The Next Best Thing
by Puca
Summary: Rory is falling for Logan. Is she falling so hard that she'll settle for the next best thing? A stringless relationship? Rogan
1. The Next Best Thing

**Disclaimer: **Do not owe Gilore Girls.

**AN: I know, I know, I'm horrible: starting another story, while I've just begun one. (You are everything I never knew I always wanted), but I'm a bit stuck on that one. I'm confident that I'll work it out and update, I'm not a quitter, but in the meantime I'm going to write this one. So, dear people, please understand, please read and please REVIEW! Hope you like it. :) Cheers.**

**P.S. Italics meen flashback. :)**

**Chapter 1: **_The next best thing_

It was cold evening mid-January. New Haven was already was wrapped up in the dark, at the time that a young couple left a small Italian restaurant. Rory shivered slightly when the icy wind seemed to go right through her coat. She pulled her scarf tighter around her neck. Logan put an arm around her shoulders pulling her closer. Rory smiled up at him.

"What?" he asked smirking.

"Nothing…"

"Nothing, huh?"

"Nothing…"

Rory stopped in her tracks pulling him to a halt and pressing her lips to his in the middle of the street. His arms drew her closer, while he answered her kiss. Passers by were staring at them, but neither of them seemed to care.

"I had a wonderful time," she said

"So I take it that I am capable of doing something right?" he murmured against Rory's lips.

"Don't gloat, Logan, it's not Christian."

Logan let out a loud laugh, little clouds of air escaping in to the cold night.

"Neither am I, Ace, and you'll taste the consequences of me being a heathen tonight,"

Rory's cheeks colored a dark red. Logan just loved to make the girl blush. His lips found hers again and for a moment they were lost in each other again. That was until Logan's cell phone started singing "_Jeremiah was a frog". _He ignored it for a while, but picked up eventually.

"Yes, Finn!"

"You did what? Why am I not surprised?"

"Hartford?"

A sigh.

"I'm on my way."

Rory wondered what the half sided conversation was about. Knowing Finn it probably was something colorful and most likely illegal. Logan hung up and sighed.

"Finn got himself arrested… again…"

Rory could not help but roll with her eyes.

"Apparently he found it necessary to go skating in the Hartford skating ring… wearing nothing else than a pair of skates and a Santa Claus hat. Anyhow… the manager called 911. Poor guy…"

"Poor fellow skaters, going out on a beautiful winter night to go skating and seeing Finn's… package unprepared."

"Speaking from experience, Ace?" Logan asked playfully and earned himself a smack on the arm.

Rory looked into his vivid chocolate brown eyes and smiled.

"I guess our date is off…"

"It doesn't have to be… Spend the night…"

Rory was silent for a moment. He had never asked her that before. As a matter of fact she had never been to his place. They always ended up at her place. And somehow she preferred that. The fact that he was seeing other girls wasn't that evident then. Then she could pretend to be the only one.

"I don't know, Logan… Paris is moving, it's a mess in my dorm, she's stressed. I have class in the morning and…"

"Come on, Ace, the more reason to stay… I saw Paris for 5 minutes and I contemplated institutionalization… I don't bite I swear. Spend the night, have a quiet morning… Go to class… set the alarm if you want…"

She looked at him again. It was too cold to think. She could feel her toes slowly getting frostbite.

"Ok," She sighed, "but the alarm will be set… and coffee. I want coffee and… I have no clothes…"

"Alarm check, coffee check check.." Logan laughed.

"Why double check?" Rory asked.

"Asks the girl who wore a T-shirt saying: "**_If it weren't for coffee, I'd have no identifiable personality whatsoever"_**. I'll better be safe, than sorry." He laughed.

"Ha ha, aren't you a funny one," she said mock offended, but couldn't help but smile.

It had been months ago, that her mom and she had worn those silly T-shirts, even before they had gotten in their arrangement. It was strange that he remembered.

Logan waved down a cab.

"The key is behind the loose brick behind the plant. 4th floor, 28b, " He told her, "I'll be there in an hour, hour and a half. You get comfortable, plunder the fridge, watch a movie … have some coffee… " he finished with a wink.

-**gggg**-

Rory greeted the doorman of Logan's apartment building.

"Can I help you, miss?" the friendly looking middle-aged man asked.

"I'm supposed to wait for someone." She answered a little nervous.

"May I ask for whom?" The black man doorman asked.

"Uhm… Logan Huntzberger," Rory said. She realized how this had to look. One of Logan's one-night stands or 'regulars' if he had any, coming here to spend the night.

"Ah yes, mister Huntzberger. I didn't know he had a girlfriend. And a very pretty one at that." Rory was confused.

"Thank you, sir, but I'm not his girlfriend." Rory blushed.

"Oh, just call me Eddie, miss, everybody does. And forgive me for being so forward. I just never see him with a lady friend. You do know he's not in, miss?"

He probably didn't work here for long. Because this didn't sound as Logan: never with a lady friend. It was more: never without a lady friend.

"Yes, he let me wait for him in his apartment." Rory answered.

Eddie nodded.

"Just sign the guestbook, please. All unannounced guests are required to."

He said with a smile and handed her a pen. Rory wrote down her name.

"Goodnight, miss Gilmore." Eddie gave her a warm smile.

"Goodnight, sir." Rory smiled back stepping in the elevator and pressing 4.

**-gggg-**

Rory walked down the dim lit hall. 28a…28b... 26a … 26b. She stopped in front of the door that held the two golden digits and looked around for the plant. A ficus was standing in the corner of the hallway. Rory felt the bricks behind it and soon found a loose one. Behind it lay a single key. She stuck it in the lock, twisting it and entered the dark apartment, touching the wall in search of a light switch. When the light turned on she noticed she was standing in a small hall. Taking of her coat and hanging it on the antic hat rack she made her way further in Logan's apartment. She found herself in a spacious living room. Her heels clicked on the dark hardwood floor as she walked around rubbing her cold hands and taking in the fire place, the expensive looking furniture, his stereo system, flat screen TV, a pool table, excessive liquor cabinet, the book case… her eyes traced the titles. She wondered if he had read some of them. She started laughing when she noticed the armour in the corner. There were two things Logan had plenty of: money and imagination. She wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing yet. She was starting to get hungry as almost everynight at 11 pm. no matter what or when she ate before that. She walked to the spotless kitchen and opened the fridge…

**gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg**

_Rory padded to the little kitchenette of her dorm. She was hungry. Scrap that, she was starving! Opening the fridge she got disappointed: Paris' pea and bean soup, a cucumber, a banana that seemed to have resided there for quit some time now (it was black), a carton of milk and one onion. Sad sad sad. A knock on the door made her crawl out of the fridge. She looked at the clock. It was almost 11 pm.. Who could it be at this hour? She opened the door and was surprised to find Logan on the other end. _

"_Hey." She greeted him a bit surprised. _

_His eyes traveled down her body and up again. _

"_Hey." He then greeted back smirking._

"_I thought you got a date tonight." Rory said. They had had coffee that afternoon. He had told her he was going out with some girl. _

"_I was…"_

"_You were…"Rory stretched. _

"… _as in not anymore," he smirked leaning against the doorpost. _

"_Huh… interesting. Why?"_

"_Well we were having dinner in a lovely French restaurant… great cuisine…excellent wine collection…"_

_Rory raised an eyebrow. _

"_I realized I wanted to be someplace else with someone else…" he finished never leaving her eyes. _

"_Like…" **Just hit me!** She thought. **What am I doing flirting with Logan?** **For the umpteenth time today!**_

"_Like in the doorway… talking to this crazed girl I know, who pulls off wearing orange flannel penguin pajama's very well."_

_Rory's face colored bright red when she realized what she was wearing. _

"_Is that right?"_

"_It is…" he winked. "So… may I come in?"_

"_On one condition!" Rory stated dead serious. _

_Logan raised his eyebrows in anticipation. _

"_I'm hungry!" Rory deadpanned, causing Logan to burst into laughter. _

"_Pancakes, ok?" he asked brushing past her. Rory followed him in to the kitchenette and installed herself on one chair as Logan draped his leather jacket over the other. _

"_Where is the flour?" he asked. Rory raised her eyebrows… _

"_Do I look like someone, who knows where the flour is?"_

_Logan laughed opening a cabinet: _

"_My bad, forgive me." _

**_-gggg-_**

_20 minutes later Rory was enjoying her first pancake._

"_Mmmmmm…That is soo good! I never took you for a chef."_

"_It's pancakes, Ace, not salmon puffs." Logan stated with a smile flipping the second pancake in the air. _

"_Wow!" Rory jumped up in her seat clapping in her hands." Do it again! Do it again!"_

_He laughed._

"_God, Ace, it really doesn't take much to entertain you. Flip a pancake, let a raisin disappear…"_

"_You can do that?" she asked._

"_I'm a man of many talents." _

"_Show me, show me! Let the raisin disappear!"_

_Rory watched as Logan took a raisin, threw it in the air and let it fall into his mouth._

"_One moment it's there and the other it's gone." She started laughing._

_If 5 months ago someone had told her that Logan Huntzberger was going to bake her pancakes, or that they would be flirting non stop, she would've laughed out loud. If someone had told her that she was falling for the cocky playboy she would've called 911. But here she was; falling for him and how. _

**_-gggg-_**

"_Do you want some coffee?" Rory asked Logan after a good hour of eating pancakes and watching Monty Python. _

_Logan looked at his watch. "Half past midnight. A bit late for coffee… Or a bit early it depends on the way you're looking at it." _

"_It is NEVER too late for coffee." Rory stated with a gasp. _

"_If I'll drink coffee now, I wont sleep tonight." He explained, smirking. "So thank you for the offer, but I'll pass. It's time to go anyway."_

_Rory nodded trying to hide her disappointment. She didn't want him to leave yet. He got up from the couch and put on his jacket. Rory rose too, following him to the door. _

"_It was very 'gemütlich' as Germans would say." He told her pulling her closer and sweetly kissing her on the lips. _

_It wasn't demanding or passionate, but a shiver ran down her spine. There was something about Logan. Something about his kisses, that made her mind go blank, her body senseless. _

"_Goodnight," he said, brushing a wisp of hair behind her ear._

_Rory bit her lip. She really didn't want him to leave. She pressed her lips on his, tracing his bottom lip with her tongue, begging for entrance. Logan invited her in, lacing his fingers in her hair. They were both fighting for control over the other… something they always seemed to do in everything… whether it was a discussion on Proust or a silly staring contest over a cup of coffee. Gasping for air, they broke away. Rory looked into his dark chocolate brown eyes. Trying to read him, but couldn't. She never could. He seemed to be hiding there somewhere in those dark smiling eyes, not wanting to come out. _

"_Don't go," she said merely above a whisper. _

"_Rory…"_

"_Don't go…" she said pushing the jacket of his shoulders. It fell on the floor with a loud flop. _

_He moved closer, leaning in for a kiss, but stopped inches away._

"_Rory… are you sure?"_

_Rory moved closer, playing with the hem of his shirt. Was she? She didn't know. What she did know was, that she didn't want him to leave, she didn't want him to stop…_

**gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg**

A good four months they had been seeing each other 'the no strings way'-It was not easy, at times really hard, but in a way she couldn't imagine her life without Logan anymore, so she settled for the next best thing, although somewhere she knew she wasn't cut out for this - and this was the first time that she was up here. In his apartment, in his kitchen, in his fridge. The contents was shabby. Beer, an opened bottle of wine, bottles of water, Red Bull, a lemon, eggs, cheese, and a carton of milk… It was just sad. _**Plunder the fridge**, _she thought with a grimace. The thugs had descended on this unguarded village many years ago. **_Coffee, then, you wouldn't dare to lie about coffee, Huntzberger. Even you are not that brave. _**

She opened one of the cabinets and gasped, pulling her phone out of her pocket and dialing his number.

"Yes?" he answered she could almost see his smirk.

"'Nescafé es no café, Huntzberger!" she stated. "You lied! Your fridge is downright pathetic and you have instant coffee in your cabinet. Shame on you!"

Logan laughed. She could hear he was driving his voice sounded different and she could hear cars passing him by.

"Second cabinet to the left," he said, "the Nescafé is for times of drought."

Rory did as he said and smiled.

"Puerto Rican, now I can work with that…"

Logan laughed.

"Good. Bye, Ace."

"Bye" She hung up and started the coffee maker.

As her elixir was brewing she examined the rest of the apartment. His study; holding a beautiful antique mahogany desk, more books and an ancient globe. Her fingers traced the marvelous thing. She noticed a slight crack, as if it consisted out of two parts and pulled at it. The globe opened reveling a hollow inside holding Logan's expensive scotch. Rory grinned: **_money and imagination. _**Next was his bedroom: containing a comfy looking queen bed. She walked to the window taking of her boots and enjoyed the view of the now slightly lit up Yale campus. Just as her curiosity got the better of her and she wanted to pull open his closet she heard that her coffee was done.

"I'll be back!" she stated in her best Schwarzenegger impersonation pointing at the closet and frolicked to the kitchen.


	2. Sleeping with Rory Gilmore

**Disclaimer: **Do not own Gilmore Girls.

**AN: You guys are soooo great! Thank you for the reviews:) **

**Chapter 2:**_ Sleeping with Rory Gilmore_

It was closing to 2am. when Logan pulled his car into his parking space and finaly made his way to his apartment.

"Good evening, sir," Eddie the doorman greeted.

"It's almost morning, Eddie," Logan smiled.

"One miss Gilmore came here several hours ago to wait for you."

"She's still here?" Logan asked. He wouldn't have been surprised if she had left, since more than 3 hours had past since he had left her. It surprised him that she stayed. He was glad she did.

"Yes, sir, I didn't see her leave." The doorman explained.

"Thank you and Eddie?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Please stop calling me sir. It's just really really…" he made a gesture with his hands, "weird."

"But.." the man started.

"Eddie just call me Logan… I beg you." He said solemnly folding his hands.

"Fine, Logan…" Eddie laughed.

"I'm eternally grateful." He smiled and pressed the button of the elevator.

"Glad I could be of service, s.., Logan. Have a good night."

"Thank you, Eddie, you too." He retorted while stepping into the elevator.

**-ggg-**

The lights in the apartment were on, he could smell the coffee and smiled. She definitely was here. He opened his mouth to call her, but closed it again with a smirk. He undid his coat, hanging it next to hers, took of his shoes and soundlessly made his way into the kitchen…No Rory. Living room... No Rory. He passed the bedroom on his way to the study, but stopped and turned around.

There on his bed, surrounded by pictures, books and things he had long forgotten he had, lay a sleeping Rory. _Been snooping much? _he thought seeing his open closet. His eyes darted to the sleeping girl once more..

_**gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg**_

_Logan lay in bed watching Rory sleep next to him. She had one arm around his waist and he was softly running his fingers up and down her white skin. She was beautiful the way she was laying there, her soft brown curls flared out over the pillow. He was wondering how it would be to wake up next to her in the morning. A smile crept up his face remembering what they had done earlier. _

_**-ggggggggg- **_

_His date had bored the brains out of his skull so he had cut their dinner short and had gone to see the person that was in his head all day now. He had prayed that she wouldn't be sleeping or that Paris would open the door instead of her, while he knocked on her door. The image of her opening the door clad in ridiculous bright orange pajamas decorated with a stylish penguin pattern was burnt into his mind for probably ever. She had demanded food and he had supplied her with pancakes, enjoying the way she ate, a blissful expression on her face and had listened to her hilarious comments on Monty Python's Holy Grail. The time just flew. He only realized how late it was when she offered him coffee. He pulled himself together and refused, getting up. He had kissed her goodnight. It was barely more than a peck. He was playing it safe. Rory was not someone he would just screw, yet he couldn't help himself. He had to kiss her. It was Rory who surprised him by kissing him back in a very non- innocent kind of way. She tasted of coffee and dark chocolate. He laced his fingers in her soft chestnut curls.. searching for a better angle. It was lack of oxygen that forced them apart. _

"_Don't go…" she whispered out of breath._

"_Rory..." He tried to form a sentence, but words just didn't seem to come. _

"_Don't go…"she repeated pushing his jacket of his shoulders. _

_He looked into her eyes, those ravishing blue eyes, that now had a darker shade of blue in them. Rory didn't look away, she kept staring at him, lips slightly parted, her cheeks flushed. She wanted him. It was written all over her. He chuckled at that thought. The shy always controlled Rory was looking at him as if she wanted to rip his clothes off of him and brutally have her way with him._

"_Rory… are you sure?" he asked her trying to keep his voice firm. _

_Rory moved closer playing with the hem of his shirt. His hands involuntarily moved around waist pulling her closer, till every inch of her body was pressed against his._

"_Ace, are you sure?" he asked again, his voice getting huskier with every word. _

_Rory was slowly pulling him towards her room. They stopped in front of her bed. Logan was torn. One part of him was saying that this was not fair towards Rory and the other wanted nothing more in the world. When her fingers started pulling up the appalling orange top of her pj's he grabbed her hands._

"_Rory!" he called out in frustration. Her name more a growl than a word. _

_She smiled at him sweetly. _

"_Yes! I'm sure!" she kissed him, "I'm not made out of glass, Logan."_

"_No you're not…" He smiled before kissing her back and gently pushing her on the bed…_

_**-ggggg-**_

_He watched her sleeping form for another 5 minutes, then slowly lifted up her arm and slipped out of bed. It was a quarter past 4. Time to go. He got dressed and looked at her one more time, before he left her room. He was almost at the door, when he hesitated, sighed and walked back. Back in her room he kneeled in front of her._

"_Rory…" he whispered, brushing a strand of hair out her face. She stirred a little but didn't wake up. _

"_Ace," he stroked her cheek._

"_Mmmm.." _

"_Ace, I have to go."_

"_What…?" she asked sleepy not opening her eyes and coaxed a smile. _

"_I have to go." He repeated. _

"_Do I have to get up…?"_

_The girl certainly was someplace else._

"_No, Ace, sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." He smirked. _

"_Ok.." and she was gone again. He kissed her bare shoulder and made a second, successful attempt to leave her dorm. _

_**-gggggggggggggg-**_

Logan watched her sleep for a while standing in the doorway. She looked like a fairytale creature. Her skin so flawless and unmarked. Her eyelashes dense and long, playfully curling up. Her satin curls spread out on the pillow. Her lips, red and kissable. He liked it when she wore that color lipstick. It made her as sweet as a strawberry cupcake. He cursed Finn for the hundredth time that night. It was one of those rare moments that he disliked his Australian friend. He had tried to call her, but of course his phone chose that moment to die. Finn was undeniable drunk, even for his standards, just had to swing at a police officer and get a punch in return causing their ER visit. And when they FINALY got to his apartment he passed out, so that Logan had to literally drag him to his bed.

_**Now, what am I going to do with you?**, _he thought walking up to her. He collected all the pictures and knickknacks she had laying there, his eyes never leaving her. He couldn't bear it to wake her, but letting her sleep in her clothes just didn't seem comfortable.

"Ace?" she didn't do as much as twitch.

"Rory, come on… work with me."

"Muh…" In her sleep she pushed him away and rolled on her other side.

"I know… sleep good, Logan bad, but sleep better when you're wearing PJ's instead of -and may I also add a very sexy- mini skirt and woolen turtleneck. Somehow he managed to get her into a sitting position and pulled her sweater over her head. Like a little child she stretched her arms as he dressed her in one of his t-shirts. He went to look for some pants but she was curled up in a little ball sleeping again when he returned. He sighed, pulling the covers over her. He changed into a pair of pajama pants, turned off the lights in the apartment and crawled in to bed only to bump into Rory who was occupying his spot. She let out an displeased grunt.

"Don't you growl at me. You stole my spot I always sleep on the left." He joked.

In return Rory crawled against him, burying her face in his arm. He moved so she would be able to breath, but she repeated her action. **_I guess, this is how it feels like to sleep with Rory Gilmore in one bed every night_, **he thought. After setting the alarm he closed his eyes, drifting to a deep dreamless sleep.

**AN: sorry it's so short :)… read and let me know what you think!**


	3. Morning Glory

**Disclaimer: **Do not own Gilmore Girls.

**AN: You are soooooooooo great:):) thank you for all the wonderful reviews! Here comes chappie 3! And italics are still meaning flashback!**

**Chapter 3: **_Morning Glory_

It was the shrill sound of an alarm clock that pulled Rory out of the embrace of a dream. As on autopilot she rolled on her side and hit the beeping thing.

"Au, Ace! That was uncalled for."

Still held by slumber's velvet fingers, she was confused. Alarm clocks did not speak. At least not hers. And if they did, they did not call her Ace. The beeping went on a few seconds longer, before it stopped.

Rory crawled deeper under the soft covers. She felt so comfortable that only the thought of getting up made her cringe. Getting more aware she suddenly opened her eyes. This were not her covers, this was not her bed, not her bedroom, not her clock. Completely disorientated she sat up.

Logan was brutally awakened by Rory's fist hitting him in the head. The yelling of his alarm clock was issue number two. God, morning had come way to quickly. He set out the monstrous beeping thing and turned his head to face Rory. Only a pluck of her brown hear was sticking out from under the covers. Suddenly she jumped up, frantically looking around the room.

"Morning there, Ace." He said.

She looked adorable. Her messy hair sticking out in every direction except down, her eyes barely open, her eyebrows furrowed, a slight pout playing on her lips. Her eyes locked with his. She didn't seem to recognize him, for her eyebrows furrowed even more.

"Loooo-gan.." he clarified.

She hit him on the arm, abruptly curling her lips into a smile.

"I just need a little time to wake up. Did I hit you earlier?" she asked.

"You did. You banged your fist on my head."

"Sorry.." she patted him on the head, "I always have the clock on the left…"

Logan smirked: "I figured… But left is my territory, for future references."

"I like left too!" she pouted.

"Well that's too bad.. cause this is my bed."

She stuck her tongue out to him. It was so strange; waking up next to Logan. He never stayed. Not the first night, not the nights that followed. She never asked, he never told. And now waking up next to him in his apartment in his bed was just plainly weird…Good weird, though. Definitely good weird. She looked at him once again. He looked a little ruff around the edges. Hair even more helter-skelter than usual, stubbles on his chin, bedroom eyes. Without question thumbs up for Logan in the morning. She just then noticed she was wearing a Yale T-shirt.

"Huh… can't remember pulling that on," she said fingering the navy blue shirt.

"I had to wrestle you…" Logan laughed, "Man, you're a vast sleeper."

"You undressed me?" she asked her cheeks slightly pinking.

Logan smirked: "It's not like I haven't seen you in your birthday suit before. And vice versa. You don't have to be shy around me, Ace."

"I know." She said meekly pulling the covers up till only the tip of her nose was showing.

"So the fridge did not do, huh? You plundered my closet?" he asked her. **_Enough embarrassment for one morning,_ **he thought.

Rory started laughing.

"Yes, can you explain me something?"

"Did you find porn or something?" he asked her with raised eyebrows.

"Well I don't know.. Do you have any…" she wiggled hers.

"To get on a man's consciousness, that man has to have one." Logan smirked.

"And you don't have one?"

"No, I'm shameless…"

"Huh… so what's the story behind the pictures where you are running around in green tights?"

Logan's smirk disappeared.

"Excuse me?"

"I found pictures of you running around in green tights, very fierce creature… how old were you? 8? 9?"

"I was imagining I was the Hulk and I was 8." Logan stated, "and don't you dare laughing!"

"Quit the display of manhood…" Rory roared with laughter. "A boy so skinny as a stick running around the yard naked except for frog green tights.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaace…"Logan whined, "I'm sure you have done your share of embarrassing things."

"What time is it?" She suddenly asked. Logan glanced at the clock.

"Almost 8."

"I'm so late! I have a class at 8.30!" She was on the verge of jumping out of bed when Logan grabbed her T-shirt.

"Relax. Just skip your first class. When is your next one?"

"At noon. But I can't skip class!" she said putting her feet on the cold hard wooden floor.

"Sure you can! I do it all the time." Logan smirked.

"Uhu… And you are the measurement standard for the average IVY-league student." Rory rolled with her eyes.

"Believe me, the average student DOES skip a class once in a while."

"Well I don't like skipping class." She pouted.

"What class is it?"

"What does it matter?"

"Just indulge me.."

"Poli. Sci."

"From Davenport?"

"Yes. Why?" Rory looked confused at the smirking Logan.

"No reason, just curious… So what are you kids learning these days? Still using 'Goldstein' I suppose…"

Rory nodded, the look on her face getting more and more puzzled.

"North South relations?"

"Logan! What is your point?"

"Huh… there actually is none, but it's a quarter past 8 now, so no way you are going to be on time and Davenport, - not too keen on naughty children." He grinned.

Rory opened her mouth, but closed it again. The indignation prevented her from thinking straight.

"You are horrible!" she eventually exclaimed. "You are a horrible, time- stalling butt-faced miscreant!"

"Now where have I heard that before?" Logan mused smirking. She smacked him with her pillow and succeeded to hit him good a few times before he snatched the pillow from her and pulled her in bed. Rory let out a shriek as the soft and warm Egyptian cotton covers swallowed her whole. The blissful peace and quiet in the apartment was invaded by rustling sheets and a hysteric laughing Rory.

**_--gggggggg--_**

"Oh my GOD!" Rory yelled at the sight of his bathroom.

Logan got out of bed and went to see what was wrong.

"What?"

"You have a bathtub!"

"I have a bathtub…"

"A bathtub!"

"Yes, a bathtub and a toilet and a sink and a shower…"

"A bathtub!"

"Rory, you're scaring me."

"A bathtub!"

Logan shook his head.

"You want **_in_** the bathtub?"

"I can?" She looked at him like a giddy five year old.

"Yes, Ace… embrace the bathtub.." Logan laughed.

"Bathtub!"

He laughed again at her joyful facial expression

"Do you mind if I jump in the shower, while you go tubbin'?" he asked her.

She shook her head and turned on the tap. From a linen closet he pulled a few towels and placed them on the edge of the tub as Rory pulled the T-shirt over her head and blushed profoundly when she noticed that he was watching her.

Logan smiled.

"You're beautiful, you know that, right?"

Rory blushed even more if that was even possible. He pulled her into his embrace, her warm skin against his, running his fingers down her bare back.

"Thank you for staying," he murmured in her hair.

"Thank you for letting me use your tub." She murmured back in his neck.

He laughed, lightly slapping her butt.

"Well go on! Get your cute butt in the tub before the water turns cold." Rory giggled and pinched his side.

"You think I have a cute butt?" she asked.

"Based on previous research I can safely state that you in fact do have a cute butt."

"My butt is eternally grateful for the recognition."

" Anytime."

He let his arms down, letting her go.

With a loud: "OH LORD THIS IS GOOD." She let her body slip in the hot water. Logan turned around making his way to the shower when she called him.

He turned around.

"Your butt is pretty cute too."

"Oh shush," he laughed, "you make me blush."

_**--gggggggggggggg—**_

After an hour Rory still did not attempts to get out of the bathtub.

"Ace, come out of there! You've been tubbin' for an hour! That just can't be healthy. You'll get all wrinkly and probably shrink." He called from the kitchen, turning the page of his paper. No answer. With a sigh he got up and knocked on the door.

"You still breathing in there?" No answer.

"I have coffee." **_3…2…_**

"I'll be there in a sec!" her muffled response came.

**_Atta girl. _** He smirked and returned to the kitchen, getting the largest mug he had out of the cabinet and filling it to the rim with steaming coffee, before resuming his reading.

_**--ggggggg—**_

After her class Rory desperately needed a caffeine fix. She was heading for a coffee stand, when suddenly someone pulled her in a corner…

_Rory was padding to the coffee stand. She had been unable to concentrate on the English lit class what so ever… And although she would have found Rushdie's Satanic Verses very interesting, she hadn't heard a word the professor was saying. Her mind was focused on Logan and on the night they had spent together… Suddenly someone pulled her in the corner. Confused she turned around and looked right in Logan's chocolate eyes. He smirked before kissing her._

"_Logan," she uttered out of breath, "everybody can see us."_

"_So let them see.." was his answer before his lips crashed into hers again._

"_I need coffee," she murmured against his lips. God, he smelt good. _

"_Well, lets get you some then…"He slung an arm around her waist and led her to the coffee stand. While they waited in line, Rory just watched him. His warm eyes, the blond chaos on his head and his smile, that always seemed to be present. And then there was his body…_

"_Ace?"_

"_Huh… what?"_

"_Black or late? Big or small?" Logan asked._

_Rory felt her cheeks turning red._

"_Uhm.. large black one." She really had zoned out there for a moment. _

_He handed her the cup and gave the coffee guy a twenty. By the time he had collected his change and his own coffee her cup was as good as empty._

_He smirked._

"_What?"_

"_It's nothing… you just keep amazing me. That coffee was boiling hot and you downed it in a blink."_

"_Years of training, my friend."_

_They sat down on a free bench nearby. The air was filled with an autumn breeze and an uncomfortable silence. It was Logan who broke it. _

"_We need to talk…"_

"_I would like to see you again… like last night, I mean…"Rory blushed. This was so weird._

"_That's what we need to talk about."_

"_You didn't.. ?" she was searching for the right words._

"_Oh no!" he smirked, "you're amazing, Ace, no complaints." There was a brief silence again._

"_I like you," he then said, "and I value you as friend. Therefore I don't want you to get hurt. Commitment isn't my thing, Ace, and there is nothing I can offer you. With me you're bound to get hurt."_

"_I don't WANT anything from you, Logan, other than your company once in a while." She answered, "No strings" _

"_You think that now, Rory. Eventually you'll want strings and you'll get hurt when I can't provide them."_

"_Aren't we full of ourselves?" she asked bitter._

"_Full? God, Rory, I bloody well know that you are way too good for me. That's why I'm telling you this."_

"_That's not true…"_

"_It is. You're beautiful, intelligent, witty, sweet and caring. You're like the billboard for a perfect girlfriend! Me, on the other hand the complete opposite of a good boyfriend or just boyfriend for that matter…"_

_Rory had to digest those words. Yes, she used to be girlfriend- type- of- girl, but Logan she liked in such a different way than Jess or Dean. She simply wanted him. And if it meant she had to settle for the next best thing, she would. _

"_Logan, I don't want commitment. I want a careless, no-strings attached relationship with you…"_

_Logan took a deep breath. He doubted she could do it, just the way he couldn't or wouldn't do commitment. But truth to be told, he wanted more nights like that as well as he wanted her company. A little voice inside his head kept nagging, that he was doing the wrong thing as he leaned in to kiss her. _

_Rory smiled._

"_So care to join me for dinner, tonight?" he asked. _

"_I would love to, but I can't. Dinner with my grandparents."_

_Logan nodded._

"_I could eat something afterwards with you…"_

"_That's a start…"_

_She smiled. God, that man was sexy. _

Logan kissed her soundly on the lips.

"You have got to stop doing that," Rory laughed.

He winked.

"Coffee, Ace?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

They strolled to the coffee cart.

"Two large black ones, with just a little cinnamon and chocolate and a small plain black one." He said.

"That you have got to stop doing too!" she said.

"What?"

"Buying me 2 expensive coffees every time."

"Well, Ace you leave me no choice. If I want to have coffee WITH you I have to buy 2 coffees! Otherwise I'm having coffee, while you are staring at it."

She pouted, knowing it was true… How was it that he seemed to know her so well, but she didn't really know him. Because he didn't let her… She took the coffee from him and strolled to their bench while he paid. She sat down and wondered why he was so reluctant to open up towards her. He came her way and laughed noticing that her first cup was empty already.

"See?" He handed her the second one and sat down next to her.

She smiled.

"Cheers!" He said. "To morning glory!"

She 'clung' her cup with his.

"To morning glory!" She took a sip. "And your bathtub!"

**AN: Hope you like it! Let me know what you think:)**


	4. Spiders Web

**Disclaimer: **Do not owe Gilmore Girls!

**Chapter 4: _Spiders web. _**

Rory was typing 90 words per minute when she noticed Logan coming in to the newsroom. And he looked… well, he looked awful. His skin was pale, his eyes red, he hadn't shaved. Even his hair looked tired.

He was wearing 3 sweaters and a coat, an oversized scarf around his neck. She followed him with her eyes as he entered Doyle's office. Her fingers stopped. She was worried. She had never seen him so disheveled before. A hangover? No, if there was someone, who could look all chirpy in the morning after excessive drinking, it was Logan. Nobody could beat Finn in alcohol tolerance, but even he had nasty hangovers. No, Logan didn't have a hangover. Did something happen? Had he been upset and crying… It didn't sound like Logan, but it was a possibility and would explain the red eyes and drained look. Before she could think of more scenarios the door of Doyle's office opened and Logan came out. He was barely out of the door as he started coughing. Rory winced at the sound. That just got to hurt. He was sick. Logan was sick! How was it possible that she didn't think of that plain and simple explanation in the first place? He didn't seem to notice her sitting there as he exited the YDN newsroom. Rory grabbed her coat and bag and followed Logan.

"Hey, Gilmore! Where do you think you're going?" Doyle's shrill voice exclaimed.

She ignored him, running out of the room, trying to figure out which way Logan went. Left, he went left. She hastened her pace and turned around the corner. There she saw him walking.

"Logan!" she called. He stopped and turned around.

"Hey, there, Ace," he greeted her hoarsely.

"Hey," she caught up with him, "You look horrible."

"Why thank you."

"No, I mean really. You're sick."

"I'm fine, Ace, just…" a nasty cough cut him off, "…little cold."

"Logan, that's not a little cold." She put her hand on his forehead. "You're burning up. You are seriously ill. You need to be in bed not wander around campus. "

"I need coffee." He murmured.

"You need your bed and probably a doctor! How long have you been walking around like this?" She asked. She hadn't seen him in over a week. This didn't happen overnight.

"Jesus, Rory, what are you? My mother?" Logan exclaimed in frustration getting caught in another fit of coughs, regretting his tone the moment it left his lips. "I'm sorry… I have a really bad headache."

Rory took his hand and pulled him with her.

"Where are we going?" Logan asked tailing behind her.

"To bed," Rory stated, "and don't you even try arguing. This is one argument you're not going to win." Logan sighed. He wouldn't argue. He honestly didn't have the strength to take her on. They entered his apartment building.

"Good afternoon miss Gilmore!" Eddie greeted. "And a good day to you too, Logan."

"Thanks, Eddie." Both Rory and Logan simultaneously answered.

"Are you feeling alright?" Eddie asked Logan, who looked as if he was going to pass out any moment.

"I'm fine, Eddie,"

"He's sick! You're sick! Accept it and reconcile to the situation!" Rory retorted, pulling him into the elevator and pressing 4.

Once in his apartment she pulled off his coat and untwined the scarf around his neck. Leading him into his bedroom, she pulled the 3 sweaters over his head.

"Jesus, it's cold, could you at least turn the heat on, since you're undressing me?"

Logan shivered. He was freezing.

"It's not cold, Logan…" she said dressing him in a new T-shirt and lounge pants.  
"You're having a fever."

After she had tucked him in bed she turned on the coffeemaker and called Paris.

"Hello?"

"Paris, hey, It's me,"

"Me, who?"

"Me, Rory." Rory rolled her eyes.

"Oh, hey Rory,"

"I need your help."

"What's wrong?"

"Logan is really sick and I have no idea what to do what so ever. Since you're pre-med…Could you come down here and check him out?"

"NO!"

"Why not? You're at your new apartment, that's like 6 blocks away from here."

"I hate sick people!"

"You are pre-med!"

"So not the point!"

Rory tried to come up with an argument, but failed. She growled.

"Paris! This is ridiculous. I have a sick…" she stopped. "He's sick! If it was Doyle, and I was pre-med I would be there in a second!"

"I'll dedicate a book too you. Now, what's wrong with that lover of yours?"

"He is not my…"

"Boyfriend!" Paris cut her off. "I don't get why you are pampering him. I don't get why you're with him in the first place, but overlooking that fact, why are you pampering him? It's not your place. You're not his girlfriend and definitely not his mother. And if you're going to say that you're his friend, I'm going to scream."

"Because he's sick Paris!"

"And you're the good Samaritan?"

"Paris…"

"Fine. What is the matter with him."

"He's burning up, coughing, he's cold even if it's hot in his apartment, he looks like hell, Paris."

"Sounds like the flu."

"Ok. So what do I do?"

"Well there is nothing you can do. Plenty of rest and let him drink lots of fluids. Give him aspirin for the fever. Your boy toy will live." Rory rolled her eyes.

"You are infuriating, you know that?"

"I do." Rory rolled her eyes.

"Ok I have to go and Paris…"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

She could here her friend sigh.

"You're welcome." Rory hung up and went in to the bedroom where Logan was laying in his bed. His eyes were closed.

"Logan?" she asked.

"Mmmm…"

"I called Paris. You have the flu."

"Paris would say I have the flu even if it was the Ebola virus. She doesn't really like me."

Rory chuckled sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"She's not that bad."

"Don't you have class?" Logan asked.

"I do, but it doesn't matter."

"Go to class, Rory," Logan replied.

"No really. It's ok."

"Rory. It is ok. So go to class. I'm not going anywhere. I'm just going to sleep. You staring at me won't make me better."

"But if you need anything…"

"I will call 911. Now go! Get some education!"

"Since when do you care about education?" Rory raised an eyebrow.

"I don't." he cracked a tired smile, "But you do."

"Fine! But I will be back and you better be in bed when I do so!" she brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes and stood up looking at him, waiting.

"What?" he asked

"Promise!"

"Promise what?"

"That you'll be still in bed when I come back."

"Scouts honor" Logan put a hand over his heart. "Do you want to spit on it?"

"Ew! No." Rory made a face.

"Then get your butt to class."

Rory just didn't want to leave him like that.

"But.."

"Rory class, Logan sleep. I'm sleeping, Ace, see?" he closed his eyes.

Rory chuckled before she made her way to the hall and put on her coat.

"Bye." She yelled and shut the door behind her.

_**---gggggggggggggggggggggggggggg---**_

Rory was trudging down campus on her way to her English lit. class. It was early and cold. Her hands were stuck deep in her pockets as she was walking towards a coffee cart.

"Ace…"

She turned around, just as Logan caught up with her. His face was flushed, hair wet with sweat, he was panting.

"Hey, what are you doing?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"Running…" Rory frowned.

"You know traveling on foot in a fast pace. " he smirked pulling the earplugs of his I-pod out of his ears.

"WHY!" she asked him as if he was mentally retarded.

"Keeps me fit." He shrugged, "wakes me up, clears the head"

"Is this like a daily thing?"

He nodded.

"You run every day."

He nodded.

"Summer, winter and every other season of the year?"

He nodded again.

"Out of free will?"

"Yes," Logan furrowed his eyebrows in anticipation of what would come next.

"You're nuts." Was her conclusion.

Logan started laughing and got caught by a cough. It had been almost two weeks since Rory had put him in bed with a 103 fever. She had rubbed Vicks on his chest, fed him chicken soup and yelled at him every time he got out of bed for a week. And although he had hated it he had enjoyed it too in a way. After a few days he had looked forward to her visits and her rants about him not being where she last left him. He wasn't a guy who could be around sticky girls, who just didn't leave him alone, but Rory… he missed. And he wanted to do something nice for her, for taking care of him even when he was cranky and didn't want to be taken care of.

"You'll get sick again," Rory said, "wearing just a sweatshirt. It's only 14 F outside."

"Very cute, Ace, if you want to hand feed me again, all you have to do is ask." That earned him a hit. He smirked. Her nose was red due to the cold, her hair messy because of the fierce wind and her pink scarf was wound around her neck so many times that her face was only visible from the nose up.

"Rory?"

"Mmmm?"

"Will you come to a charity ball with me?"

"What?"

"A charity ball… next week Saturday.. in New York…will you accompany me?"

"Why me?" she asked. He had so many girls ready. And though she knew this question would cause some friction between them, she had to know.

Logan's smirk disappeared.

"Has there to be a reason for you to come with me?"

Rory stared at the toecaps of her shoes. She wanted one.

"I… just want to know, why me. It's not like you haven't got other girls."

Logan felt his stomach clench. This was the point he had looked out for and dreaded at the same time. The point that he had deliberately led her to and tried to delay. The point that Rory would crack. The point that she started to question her decision to have a stringless relationship, him and her. He had expected it to be sooner, way sooner. Could he just let her go now? Just like that?

"Because it's important to me and I want you there." No, he couldn't, but he wasn't ready to give himself to her either. Yet.

Rory looked at him and nodded.

"Ok… I'll come with you. What should I wear?"

"Don't worry about anything. You just have to show and a up." He said.

"Ok." What was she doing? She wanted to go cry, just cry, but not for him to see. She had reached the point she couldn't be with him, but definitely couldn't be without him. And it was all her fault. He own stupid fault.

"I have class." She said, "Talk to you later?"

Logan only nodded as she started moving away from him.

Rory took a deep shaky breath as she turned the corner and it was then the tears of frustration started streaming down her face. Angrily she wiped them away, but they just kept rolling down her cheeks. Heavy hot tears on her cool skin.

Logan put the earplugs in his ears again and started running. Faster and faster till his lungs were burning and he couldn't feel his legs anymore. How would life be without Rory Gilmore? Probably empty and cold. Did he want that? Yes for hers sake, no for his. He couldn't give her a relationship. He just couldn't. Yet he wanted to drag them out of the dark whole he had driven them in. He was a spider strangled in his own web and the way out was sticky.

**AN: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Here is the next chappie, hope it's not confusing and you like it. Please review! **


	5. Are we there yet?

**Disclaimer:** Do not own Gilmore Girls.

**AN: Thank you for all your kind reviews… You guys are great! This chappie had become so long that I cut it in two. All I can say is that I'm on a roll here…. Hahahaha so a new chappie will follow soon. Also thanks to Caroline's excellent guidance!**

**Anyway ! Read and review! Hugs**

**Chapter 5. _Are we there yet? _**

"So what should I pack?" Rory asked Logan who was slumbering next to her, absently drawing circles on her back.

"What?"

"To New York…"

"Yourself." He chuckled.

"It's one night, right?" He didn't answer. "Logan…" she nudged him.

"Mmmm.."

"Come on! Stay with me, Bubba!"

"Ace… I'm tired. Can we talk in the morning?" Logan laughed pulling her closer. Their little rift seemed to be on the background, though not forgotten by either of them. It was boiling under the service.

"Hmpf… Tell me something…"

"What?"

"Well anything about yourself."

"I hate grapefruits." He murmured.

Rory chuckled.

"Grapefruits?"

"Shhh… sleep. I'm going to kick you out, you know."

"No you won't"

"No. But I could. Your feet are freezing, you know that right?"

Rory chuckled and pushed her ice cold toes against his ankles.

"Ice cube," Logan hissed

"Well be my micro wave?" she asked coaxing him a grin.

"Do I have a choice?"

"No."

He sighed.

"Goodnight."

"Night." Rory replied snuggling up to him and closing her eyes.

**---ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg ---**

"Oh for gods sake!" Logan exclaimed, when Rory's fist hit him in the head again, when the alarm clock went off.

"Huh… sorry…" she mumbled. "Should've switched sides."

"I'm not giving you the left side of my bed!"

"Well then I guess you'll have to take the take the blows!" she stuck her tongue out at him. Not something that could go unpunished if it was up to Logan.

"AU!" Rory yelled when Logan's teeth sunk in her thigh. "You bit me!"

"You were asking for it." She rubbed the sore spot, pouting.

"You left a mark!" Logan pulled her hand away and saw that a bruise was indeed forming on her creamy white skin.

"I really despise you right now."

"Sorry…" He showered her leg with kisses.

"Still mad…" was Rory's response as she crossed her arms in front of her chest..

"Huh… wanna watch Grease?"

"No."

Logan smirked. "Wanna go tubbin'?

Rory bit on the inside of her cheek, trying to hide her smile.

"Come on… you know you want to. I have a present for you by the way."

He got out of bed and searched his closet. He handed her a little pink box with a huge blue ribbon on top. Rory pulled it off and couldn't help but burst out in laughter at the sight of the pink rubber ducky.

"You are forgiven." She said getting out of bed as well and taking his hand.

**_----gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg--------_**

"So about New York," Logan began. They were soaking in his bathtub, Rory leaning against him drinking coffee.

"Mmmmm…"

"Come with me tomorrow."

"Huh? You said Saturday."

"The charity, yes. But come with me tomorrow. I want you to meet someone and show you something."

"Who? What?"

She turned her head. Logan brushed some foam of her nose.

"I guess you'll have to wait and see."

Rory pouted.

"I guarantee you that you won't be sorry."

"I don't know I have to decipher the whole hierarchy of the early German Reich. It's such a chaos and we have to know all of them."

"I can help with that…" he said counting the freckles on her shoulder.

"And then there is Friday night dinner with my grandparents…"

"Which you could get out of, I'm sure."

Rory smiled.

"No further arguments?" Logan asked playfully. Rory splashed water in his face.

"Au! Soap alert!" Logan yelled rubbing his eyes.

"Oh no! Sorry!" Rory tried to turn around but she slipped and disappeared under water face forward.

Logan pulled her up, coughing and chortling.

"Aren't you a slippery one." He laughed.

"Meeeeh," Rory was waving her arms around, her eyes clenched shut to protect them from the pricking soap. Logan grabbed a towel and rubbed her face clean. Carefully she opened one eye, when nothing happened she opened the other one too.

Logan drew her closer, catching her mouth with his, playfully nibbling at her bottom lip.

"Ok" Rory sighed.

"Ok what?" he murmured.

"I'll come with you tomorrow." Logan smirked.

"Good."

"So what time are we leaving?" Rory whispered in between kisses.

"Early…" he brushed his lips against her again.

"How early?"

"Around …uhm …8"

Rory pushed him away.

"That is scandalous!"

"It's a pretty long drive. The longer we get to stay."

Rory raised her eyebrows.

"Who are we meeting?"

"You'll see. And I'm pretty sure you'll have a good time. And bring pants and a sweater."

"Loooooo-ooo—oooo—oooooo-hgan!" she exclaimed.

Logan only squealed the pink rubber ducky instead of answering.

---GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG—

"Fruit of my loins!" Lorelei yelled. Rory held the phone further from her ear.

"Hi mom!" She pulled a sweater from her closet, sticking it in her overnight bag. "I need to ask you a huge favor!"

"Oh Lord! Tell me Bonnie! Is it illegal? Are we stealing something? Need a wheelman?"

Rory took a deep breath. She hated lying to her mother, but she had been doing so for the past 5 months. In a way there was no way back.

"I can't come to Friday night dinner."

"Why?"

"Paris planned this spontaneous trip to New York. Sort of a girls night out. I don't see her as much as I used to since she moved in with Doyle."

"You really miss her, don't you?" Rory's heart dropped. She did miss Paris in a way, but they saw each other often. It felt so wrong to use her as an excuse, since she was going to spend the weekend with her friend with benefits her mom new nothing about.

"I do."

"Well ok I'll distract grandma, you go have fun in New York! And don't do anything I wouldn't do."

You have no idea, Rory thought sadly. Logan was everything Lorelei despised: a privileged, rich heir of the highest circles of society. A guy her grandparents would put on a pedestal.

That's how she saw him too when she first met him. A cocky, rich, narcissistic and self-centered airhead born with a silver spoon, who didn't care about anything in life. Well in a way he was. He knew very well he was privileged and didn't hone to use that in his advantage. Cocky? Definitely. An airhead? He seemed that way, but Rory knew for a fact that he wasn't. He remembered everything he read and the head on his shoulders was everything but empty. He was good in what he did and he could be great if he would just put his mind to it. She new that he wrote. He rarely turned it in, but he did write, and the boy could write.. effortlessly. It shone through; his potential, intelligence, yet it seemed that no one could understand the depths of him. Boy, the guy guarded his walls well. It was frustrating to no avail! She sighed when someone knocked on the door. When she opened it the hallway was empty, but on the doormat stood a cup of coffee with a note.

She bent down to pick it up and read the note.

_" See you at 8 AM. And don't pout, you'll love me later," _

_L._

Rolling her eyes, she lifted the lid of the coffee and smelled it. Cinnamon. With a smile she closed the door behind her.

_**-----------ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg---------**_

"Early…" Rory whined. It was still semidark as Logan held open the door of his SUV and put Rory's back in the trunk next to his.

He smirked at the sight of Rory all crawled in her coat, eyes barely open.

"It's cold.." she mumbled.

"It will get warmer…" Logan smirked, climbing in the car and shutting the door. He started the ignition and turned on the road.

"Buckle up," he told her after a few minutes of silence. She looked at him.

"You who jumped of a 7 storied scaffold, dove out of a plane…"

"Do not want to scrape you of the highway, in case something happens. It's February, roads are slippery… Just fasten your seatbelt!" Rory laughed and did as she was told.

"Logan?"

"Yes?"

"What happened to your Porche? Isn't a SUV a bit inconvenient for New York?"

"Where we are going, Ace," Logan smirked, "you need four wheel drive."

Rory's eyes grew.

"I thought we were going to New York."

"We are. Tomorrow. I said it was on the way to New York."

"No you didn't!"

"Yes I did."

"No you didn't!"

"Fine maybe I didn't."

"Huh… maybe you did."

"Ace…"

Rory stared out of the window for a few moments.

"Are we there yet?" she then asked, coaxing him a groan.

"We are not re-enacting Shrek, Ace. That's Finns department. And I bet he would happily recruit you for the role of donkey."

"Yeah," Rory smiled, "I would make a great donkey."

"You do make great donkey." He mumbled.

"EX-CUSE me? You make a good Lord Farquaad."

"Eeeeew!" they yelled at the same time.

"Wrong on so many levels." Logan laughed.

"But seriously… I would make a good donkey, wouldn't I?" Rory asked him.

"Seriously?" He sighed, "Yes you would."

"That didn't sound convincing." Rory pouted. "Pay attention" She took a deep breath.

"I don't wanna die...! I don't wanna DIE! Oh sweet sister mother of mercy... I'm melting...! I'm MEEELTIIING!" she yelled.

"You're a stud, Ace," Logan laughed.

"As long as you know it."

"Oh I know it." He wiggled his eyebrows. Rory blushed profoundly.

"So where are we going?" she asked nonchalantly.

Logan let out a loud laugh, "You'll have to do better than that."

Rory opened her mouth.

"Save your breath, Ace." He interrupted with a grin, "We'll get there sooner than you'll crack me."

She pouted and stifled a yawn.

"Get some sleep." Logan winked, gently brushing his knuckles against her cheek. She wanted to protest but her eyelids involuntarily started sliding down and soon she was dreaming that she was tapping along Shirley Temple.

_**----gggggg-----**_

An hour and a half later she woke up a little disoriented. They weren't moving and Logan wasn't sitting next to her. She stretched her arms and tried to figure out her whereabouts. It seemed a gas station in a small town.

Suddenly the door opened and Logan hopped in the car.

"Hey there, sleepyhead." He said handing her a cup of hot steaming coffee.

"Bless you," she smiled taking it from him.

Smirking he turned his cheek at her. Rory rolled her eyes and gave him a peck.

"That's more like it," They started driving again.

"How long did I sleep?" she asked nipping from her coffee.

"Hour and a half."

"So where are we going?" she tried again.

"To Omaha," Logan answered.

"Really!" Rory raised her eyebrows.

"No."

"But…"

"Just drink your coffee, Ace."

"Hmpf…"

Not long after that Logan turned into a small road, or at least Rory thought it was a road. Except for two tire trails it was one big sheet of white.

"We are almost there." Logan said.

" There where?" Rory asked confused. All she saw was trees and lots of snow. "Logan where are we! Are even still in the state?"

"Officially we are still in Connecticut but New York is on the other side of the lake not far from here."

"Where are you taking me?" Rory demanded.

"Relax, Ace, I'm not going to kill you and burry you… yet."

Rory hit him.

After 20 minutes out of the blue a beautiful stone manor appeared, surrounded by meadows now covered in a white blanket, in the distance Rory could distinguish stables and a snow-clad orchard and the whole property was surrounded by a thick forest. It was absolutely magical.

"So you want to know where you are?" Logan asked as they passed the gate.

Rory nodded her face nearly plastered to the car window.

"It's called Round Hill. My aunt lives here."

"This belongs to your family?" Rory gasped.

"Well it belongs to my aunt. But you'll see. Rose is not your average Huntzberger. Well she's actually not a Huntzberger at all. She's my moms younger sister. And she has more in common with Finn than with the Huntzberger clan."

Rory laughed. Logan's eyes lit up when he talked about this woman.

"She sounds very special."

"She is," He stopped the car.

"Watch out for the dogs…" Logan said as Rory opened the door.

"What do…?" She hadn't finished the sentence as 3 Boxers and a Chihuahua huddled around the car door, barking. With a yelp Rory shut the door.

"There are 3 dogs and a rat barking at me!"

"Rat! That's not nice, Ace! That is Napoleon. The leader of that four legged army."

Out of the house came a woman with scarlet curls falling over her shoulders. She was wearing jeans, an oversized grey woolen sweater, cowboy boots and a contagious smile.

"Logan! You are on time for once. Napoleon! Ozzy! Puddles! Big Mac!"

As the hurdle of furry animals disappeared, Rory dared to get out of the car. A bit shyly she watched the exchange of hugs and kisses between Logan and what she assumed was Rose.

"And you must be Rory!" Rose exclaimed enveloping her in a hug.

"I'm Logan's auntie. Rose. You already met the kids." The woman had the greenest eyes Rory had ever seen.

"Yes. I'm Rory. It's nice to meet you. Logan talks highly of you."

"He better!" She laughed. "Come inside! Frank made lunch."

She exchanged a glance with Logan who nodded and winked at her, before she followed the bouncy woman in the house. It was as beautiful as on the outside and although huge it felt cozy and warm.

"Frank! They are here!" Rose yelled.

"So for once he's on time!" a muffled yell returned.

"Miracles do happen, hon! I mean he brought a girl!" She smiled brightly at Rory.

She kicked out her boots in the middle of the hall and Rory noticed she had two different socks on.

"Come!" She took Rory's hand and started pulling her with her.

"But, Logan…"

"Logan will find his way. He practically grew up here."

In the kitchen a guy wearing a T-shirt, socks and a apron was stirring something on the stove.

"Hon. You forgot your pants." Rose stated.

"Jeez… how did that happen?" Frank remarked in a sarcastic voice.

"Huh… you getting old and senile?"

"You stealing them you mean?"

"I did not steel your pants!"

"Yes you did!"

"That's because you stole my bra!" Rose defended her actions.

"For the umpteenth time! I didn't take your bra!"

Rory watched the exchange before her, and smiled, suddenly feeling at ease.

Rose shrugged: "Well someone did."

"Did you watch in the couch already?"

"Huh no.. Now go get dressed you are scarring Rory!"

"Rory. Hi! Nice to meet you. I'm Frank, Rose' husband." He smiled warmly offering her his hand, which she took.

"It's nice to meet you, sir." Rory greeted politely.

"Sir? Who are you calling sir in here. It's Frank, just Frank. Napoleon is the only 'sir' in this household."

Logan chose that moment to enter the kitchen.

"Frank, long time no see," he said smiling and shook the older mans hand.

"Pretty girl you brought." Frank remarked. "And polite. She called me sir you know."

Rory blushed a dark crimson.

"I trained her well," Logan laughed.

"Miscreant," Rory mumbled smacking him in the head.

"AU!"

"Oh my God! I love you already!" Rose exclaimed.

"Hey! I'm your blood!" Logan replied mock hurt. "Mean to pick her side."

"Logan, I love you like a son, but you do need to get hit in the head once in a while."

"Oh … that's covered" Logan laughed winking at Rory.

"Should've let me sleep on the left." Rory pouted.

Rose and Frank exchanged a look and a smile.

"I made zucchini soup," Frank said with the pride of a father still stirring in the pan.

"Frank and zucchinis.." Rose sighed. "If you want something edible… I can make great eggs."

"Hey there missy! There is nothing wrong with my zucchinis!" Frank protested waving around a spoon.

"No, not with the zucchinis, but with you." She mumbled with a laugh.

"I would love some zucchini soup," Rory laughed.

"They are living kind of isolated from the world here," Logan whispered in her ear. "Hence the mental instability."

"Huh… I heard you practically grew up here… explains a lot …"

"What does THAT mean?"

"That you are pretty coocked too." She said tasting the greenish soup and struggling to keep a straight face. It was in one word hideous.

"And?" Frank waited in anticipation.

Rory swallowed with some trouble. "Mmmm…delicious."

Logan nearly broke down in laughter at the sound at Rory's voice. It sounded as if she was in pain.

Rose noticed it too.

"Frank, for heavens sake. Put some pants on!" she ordered.

As soon as Frank had left the kitchen she snatched the plate and drained the contents down the sink.

"You are braver than me, hon." Rose laughed. "And an angel for not breaking his bubble. Although someone will soon have to. He's driving me insane with his zucchinis. But hey that's love: you put up with each others zucchinis."

Rory smiled.

"Come on I'll show you your room. You can get settled a little." Rose pulled her up the stairs leaving Logan alone in the kitchen. He sighed and opened the fridge.

_**--ggg--**_

Rory was staring out of the window. It was so beautiful. So peaceful and silent. So perfect. She didn't hear Logan come behind her and was a little startled when he kissed her neck.

"It's only me." He said. "And I'm bearing gifts." He handed her a turkey sandwich.

"Mmmm… Thanks" Rory mumbled sinking her teeth in it.

Logan watched her eat.

"Stop it." She mumbled with her mouth full.

"Why?"

"Because I'm eating."

"I happen to like watching you eat and read and sleep. Come to think of it I just like to watch you." He answered with a smirk plopping down on the bed.

"Pervert…"Rory mumbled taking another bite.

"Donkey."

"Voyeur!"

"Sexy." Rory blushed.

"Ha! I win," he laughed.

"_Huntzberger! Where are you hiding!" _A voice yelled.

A voice Rory didn't know but Logan seemed to distinguish in a blink. He got up from the bed, grinning like a madman and made his way out of Rory's room. Rory struck by curiosity, followed him. At the bottom of the stairs stood a beautiful girl about Rory's age. Her eyes were light blue, her hair golden and shining. She was tall and slim, like a model. Looking absolutely ravishing in the tight jeans she wore she flung her arms around Logan's neck as he spun her around.

"That was like for ever." She laughed. "Where did you hang out?"

"School?"

"Uhu… I bet." Logan put her down. "How long are you staying?"

"Till tomorrow…"

"So soon..?" She pouted.

"Yes, so soon."

"I'm sad."

"Sure you are."

"And who is this?" She asked eyeing Rory.

"Oh.. this is Rory. Rory Wendy." He said pointing to the girl next to him.

"Hi." Rory said.

"Hey… So Huntzberger you owe me a ride." She said completely ignoring Rory again.

"I do?"

"Yes! So get your boots on cowboy. Chinook is all saddled up."

Logan laughed.

"What do you say, Ace? In for a ride?"

"A race!" Wendy chimed in.

Logan rolled his eyes.

"A ride…"

Rory looked at the two. She didn't like horses, but most of all she didn't want to be a third wheel.

"No thanks. I don't ride."

"Come on, Ace… It's fun. And very pretty the time of the year."

"You go." She said with a smile.

"Ace.."

"Logan don't push the girl. If she said no, she meant no." Wendy said, grabbing his arm.

"You sure, Ace?" Logan asked.

Rory nodded. "Yeah, go.."

They left and Rory sighed. Somehow she felt so sad that Logan didn't try to get her to come. She knew she would've said yes eventually. But he didn't try. Usually he would bug her till she said yes. And although she would deny it to the grave she liked it. She liked it that he knew what button to push. He got her to do stuff she would never do if it wasn't for him. In a way she was grateful for that.

With a sigh she climbed the stairs again. In her room she grabbed her book and flopped down on the bed with it.


	6. His own burden in his own way

**Disclaimer: **Do not own Gilmore Girls.

**AN: Another chappie! Your reviews were so great that I decided to post it now. I hope you like it… and I'm sorry there isn't much progression in the story. Pretty pretty please REVIEW! **

**Chapter 6. _His own burden in his own way. _**

An hour passed since Rory started reading when a knocked on the door pulled her out of the Chinese emperors palace.

"Hey there.." Rose was standing in the doorway watching the blue eyed girl read on the bed all alone.

"Why didn't you go with Logan and Wendy?"

Rory shrugged.

"Not a horseback fanatic."

"Or did you think two is a company; three is a drag?"

Rory blushed and Rose could not help but give her a sympathetic smile.

"Frank and the guys are out fixing some fence. Come downstairs. Keep me company while I make dinner. I promise it won't have any zucchinis in it." Rory smiled and climbed of the bed.

**_

* * *

_**

Rose looked up when Rory entered the kitchen. The girl stood a bit shyly in the doorway.

"Want some coffee?"

"Yes, please." Rory answered entering the warn kitchen further. Under the table she could see a sleeping Napoleon.

Rose took out 2 cups and filled them. Rory sat down at the cooking island and cradled her coffee.

"There is nothing there." Rose said. Rory didn't understand.

"Between Logan and Wendy." Rose clarified with a smile. "Summers spent together is all that links them. She's the neighbors' daughter. They know each other from yay high." Rose laughed holding her hand at the height of her hip and coaxed a smile.

"The hulk…" Rory mumbled with a smile.

Rose started laughing.

"Yeah…God. That was long ago. Logan running around half naked. So you two are…"

"…. undefined." Rory answered quietly.

"Huh…I thought you were more. Since he brought you here. He never brings anybody here . Of the fair sex, I mean… "

Rory shook her head with a sigh.

"We aren't."

" You don't seem like that kind of girl… who settles for the "vague" I mean."

"I wasn't … still aren't I guess. It's hard." She gave Rose a sad smile.

"Then why?"

"Because I'm in love with him… I'm stupid, I realize that more and more every day, but then he does something sweet and I don't know…"

"It's not stupid, Rory… Some things you can't control…. Others you can." She smiled. "Logan too can be won. Well pushed with his nose in the facts anyway. The boy really really likes you, hon. It's obvious. You just need to nudge him a little. You know.." she winked, "Make him jealous."

"Well Logan is not very easily provoked."

"Logan is very good at playing cool. Doesn't mean he is.." Rory smiled.

It felt as if she was … well talking to her mother. A load fell of her shoulders sharing this with someone. Someone who didn't judge.

"He's taking you to the charity. That has to mean something, right?"

"I'm not sure what."

"Well he doesn't take it lightly."

"I'm not sure **what** Logan takes seriously and what not. He's not the most open kind of guy."

Rose laughed.

"True, but you can take it from me that he takes The Libby Ross foundation seriously. He and his mom were so close."

"Were?"

"Yeah… " For a moment there was a certain sadness in Rose' smiling eyes.

"Well he and his dad too. It's hard to believe but they once were a happy family."

Rory was lost.

"So what happened?"

"You don't know?" Rory shook her head.

Rose looked at her before resuming chopping the onions.

"She died. Breast cancer. They… we… were so devastated. Losing a sister is harder you can ever imagine. Michum turned cold the moment he had to be there for Logan… He was broken himself… losing the love of his life… and then Shira came along. Logan well .. it was the toughest on him. Lena was only ten back then. Logan 16 it was sad…. He left for Europe a year later. When he returned he was just different. I guess grief can't be shared. Everyone carries it alone. His own burden in his own way. "

Rory swallowed. She hadn't known any of this.

"So Libby Ross… was Logan's mother?"

"Elizabeth Ross-Huntzberger. She was a pianist." Rose smiled at the memory of her late sister. " She thought at Juilliard School. You should ask Logan to play for you."

Rory took a deep breath.

"He plays the piano…"

Rose started laughing: "There was a time when both Mitchum and Libby were bickering about Logan's talents.. till he broke his hand… idiot…"

"So that's why he's ambidextrous."

Rose nodded. "That's boys for ya…"

"So you didn't know, huh?"

Rory shook her head. "It explains a lot though…"

"He has his issues … But maybe you wouldn't have fallen in love with him if he wasn't the way he is. And I see now that it wasn't my place to change him. I tried to get the old Logan back, but like I said. I can't take away his grief or his fears. He has to want it himself. A motivation." She eyed Rory. "He's different today, you know. He's happy. You are the reason I presume… and maybe he would've told you in his own time. Maybe he still will. I'm not siding on his whole string-less relationships, but I also think that bad warlocks can turn into good. So don't push him away because of this."

"I'm not the one pushing away, Rose… He's doing all the pushing." Rory replied quietly.

"He looks strong, cocky… but every time I look at him I still see the same scared kid like 6 year ago, Rory. And he's taking you to NY. Logan may have loads of girls. He never takes anyone there. Colin and Finn have been there. But imagine Finn sober. That's how much they respect that. You are special."

Suddenly Rory started to cry. It came as a flooding and had sneaked up on her like a avalanche.

Rose dropped the onion she was cutting.

"Oh, sweetie, what is the matter?"

"I… don't… know…" Rory chocked out. "I… just… if… my mom… and then…"

Rose enveloped her in a hug, Stroking her hair.

"Shhhh…it's ok. I didn't mean to make you cry."

"I-I-I… know."

At once Rose too started crying.

"W-w-why are you crying?" Rory sniffed.

"I don't know. Because you are."

"We could make a new Guinness record like that. Most people in the world crying. A chain reaction."

Rose laughed through her tears.

"What's wrong!" a shocked Frank asked out of nowhere seeing the two hugging women, crying.'

"Onions!" They replied in unison.

* * *

"Come on… see if you've still got it!" Wendy laughed, urging her horse to go faster. "Who is fastest at the oak!" And she was gone. 

Logan shook his head.

"She'll never change.. " he told no one in particular, spurring Chinook, who took off as if he had been waiting for this all day now. She laughed when he came riding along side her. He would've passed her, but he pulled the eager Chinook back slightly and Wendy won by half a length. She turned her horse and pouted.

"That was mean, Huntzberger! Letting me win.."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Logan defended himself.

"Liar liar pants on fire."

He laughed.

"Chinook is a boy… he has longer legs than Nova."

"So you should let me win? And don't be sexist about my horse."

"I'm not sexist! I'm the perfect gentleman…"

"You are horrible, that's what you are."

They looked at each other for a moment. Their friendship had changed over the years… they had. Two blond kids had become grown-ups.

"I'm getting married to Thomas." She said with a smile. "Tell me I'm doing the right thing…"

Logan smirked drawing in the cool air.

"You should come… It's in the spring. April…"

"I will… thanks."

"So you and … Ace was it?"

"Rory."

"Rory. You love her?"

"I don't know. I don't think so." He smirked.

"But…?"

"But… I could..."

"Then don't hold back, Logan. Don't be afraid. Who knows maybe she's the best thing that has ever happened to you."

"It's getting dark we should go back." He said and Wendy nodded. In silence they rode through the woods. At the red gate, they stopped and got off their horses.

"So don't be a stranger." Wendy said hugging him. "Call, write, visit."

"You don't want to stay for dinner?"

"No.. I think Rory wants you for herself and Thomas is waiting for me at home. I'll pass. It was good seeing you again. You look good."

"You don't look bad either." He said kissing her cheek.

Wendy stepped out of the embrace and opened the gate as Logan mounted the waiting Chinook.

"Wendy?"

"Yeah?"

"You're doing the right thing," he said with a smile. She gave him a radiant smile back.

Logan waved before spurring Chinook and allowing him to run as fast as he wanted.

* * *

In the stables Logan greeted the stable boys. 

"I'll brush him off myself," he said leading Chinook in to his pen and taking off his gloves. In swift strokes he followed the lines of his back and his flanks. Wendy's words kept swimming circles in his mind. _Don't hold back. Don't be afraid. _And his own. _I don't think so. But I could. _Did he love Rory? Maybe not. But he definitely was falling for her. Fast. When he was finished, he scratched Chinook behind his ear. The horse let out a purr-like sound, when he got scratched on his favorite spot. Frank cleared his throat.

"That horse is a pain in the butt."

"Chinook? No. He's just a little ridged around the edges, but he's a big softy inside."

Frank smiled.

"Sounds like someone else I know."

Logan raised his eyebrows.

"Anyway… the ladies cooked dinner."

"Rory? Cooked? That I got to see," he laughed.

The two men walked to the house and entered the kitchen where Rose and Rory were "cooking". Rose was laying on the floor, clutching her sides and gasping for air… as she was laughing hysterically, her face almost as red as her hair. Rory hung over the cooking island waving with a stick of celery close to tears from laughing and as if that was not enough Napoleon was viscously barking on the counter.

Logan raised his eyebrows: "That can't be hygienic."

It was then that Rory tipped over and fell head first from the cooking island.

Logan reached out to grab her but was not fast enough and her head hit the tile floor with a loud thud.

"Jesus Christ, are you still in one piece?" Logan exclaimed kneeling down next to her.

"OW!" was all Rory could say.

"What day is it today?" Logan asked

"I don't know." She meekly replied clasping her head

"Lord she has a concussion!" Frank exclaimed. "I'll call 911!"

"No, wait.. Wrong question. Lets say a little prayer, Ace. Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze. It maketh me to wake in green pastures: It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses…"

"… It restorth my buzz…." Rory continued. "It leadeth one in the paths of consciousness for it's name sake. Yea, though I walk through the shadow of addiction, I will fear no Equal: For thou art with me; thy cream and thy sugar they comfort me…."

Logan laughed.

"She's completely delusional!" Frank said.

"No. She'll be fine. Let me see, Ace." He said pulling her hands away from her head.

"Ow…"

"I know… aren't you a nutcase," he brushed away her hair to see if she hadn't cracked her skull. Rose was up and about running to the fridge to get ice-cubes. Napoleon was still monotonously barking.

"Shut up, you mutt!" Frank exclaimed and got a growl in return. "Don't you start…"

Another bark.

"Napoleon, shush!" Rose said and the little dog stopped. "It's getting old, honey, you getting into fights with a Chihuahua."

"Well why does he listen to you and not to me?"

"Sensitivity, love."

"You'll have a pretty bump.." Logan said, helping Rory sit up.

"Ow….."

"Ow, yes." Rose handed Logan the tea towel filled with ice cubes and Logan planted it on Rory's head. She flinched.

"Ow…" suddenly tears glistered in her eyes.

Logan rubbed her back.

"It hurts that bad?"

Rory only nodded.

"Jerry!"

"What?" Frank asked.

"Ben and Jerry. Give me a can and a spoon. We need painkillers here."

Rory smiled through her tears.

* * *

5 minutes later Rory was tucked in on the couch with ice cubs on her head and a can of cookie dough Ben and Jerry's in her hands. 

"You feel better?" Logan asked and she nodded.

"Sorry, it was my own fault."

"Please promise me to not engage in any acrobatic tricks in the future. Some people are not built for it. And my nerves sure as hell aren't."

Rory chuckled.

"Did you have a good time?"

"With Wendy? I did. Too bad you didn't join us,"

Rory shrugged and fed him a spoon full of ice cream.

"I'll spoil my appetite."

"Amateur."

"Dinner is ready!" Rose yelled.

"You want to eat here?" Logan asked. She shook her head, getting up and taking his hand. Logan pulled her back down, softly brushing his lips against hers.

"Rory, I…" he started, but Rose stuck her head around the corner.

"Eat now, smooch later!" she laughed, causing Rory to blush profoundly.

* * *

Dinner was funny and pleasant. Rory always had thought that Logan was not close with his family, but this was as happy as they got. Even she felt at home and she hadn't even spent a whole day here. Logan was at ease to say the least. After dinner they drank coffee, watched Jeopardy on TV and Rory got a full recap of the dogs/kids names. Napoleon was well Napoleon and Puddles, had certain little accidents as a baby, Ozzy decapitated a bat… And Big Mac was fat as a pup. It was heartwarming to see Rose and Frank interact. At midnight Rory started yawning and they decided to call it a day. At the door of her room Logan kissed Rory goodnight before going to his own. Rory got into her pajamas and crawled in her bed, but couldn't sleep. She kept twisting and turning, thinking about everything Rose had told her. Pondering on how to deal with it. Eventually she got out of bed and padded to the hallway.

* * *

Logan woke up from a noise. He opened his eyes and saw a figure standing in the doorway of his room. 

"Can't sleep?" he asked

"No.."

He lifted his covers and waited till she crawled in bed next to him.

"Good lord… Your feet… How can people be afraid of global warming when there are your feet! Un-believable."

She giggled.

"I can't help it." She said turning to face him

"You can remove them from mine for starters. Because I have frostbite by now."

"Drama queen"

"Donkey. With ice cold feet."

She hit him.

"We have a zero-violence policy here, missy. And that brings me to point two. Do you have any blood in that body of yours? You're like a frog. Your hands are freezing too." He rubbed them.

"I'm a princess. Kiss me!"

"You're a donkey…"

"Donkeys need love too.." Rory pouted.

"They do. In a petting zoo."

"I don't like you anymore. You are not donkey friendly."

"I'm a philanthropist… in the donkey department!"

Rory snuggled against his chest and closed her eyes. The rhythmic sound of his heartbeat lulled her to sleep fast.

"Ace?"

When she didn't answer Logan kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes too, swiftly drifting off to sleep with Rory in his arms.


	7. Grandma got run over by a reindeer

**Disclaimer:** Do not owe Gilmore Girls.

**AN: Thank you, thank you for your reviews! Hahaha … I want more! Here is the next chapter! So read and REVIEW! Tell me what you think. The more reviews I get the more motivated I get :P hahaha. c**

**Chapter 7_ Grandma got run over by a reindeer _**

It was still dark when Logan softly shook Rory's shoulder.

"Huh…?" she cracked open an eye.

"Get up," Logan said. "I want to show you something."

"What time is it?" she asked.

"7 am."

"Are you insane?"

"No… just eager to show you something. And I wont take a no for an answer, so it'll be easier if you just cooperated."

"I don't wanna…"

* * *

"Logan…." Rory stretched half an hour later with warning in her voice. "I'm not getting on that."

"You are hurting Buttercups feelings…"

"I'm sure Buttercup will understand." Rory crossed her arms in front of her chest.

The big black horse pushed her soft nuzzle in Rory's face.

"Meeeeeeew…"

"See, Ace she is sweet. Have you ever ridden a horse?" Logan asked.

"I did and I'll never do it again. It's for Buttercups benefit."

" What happened? Did you fall off?"

"No it died?"

"Who died?"

"Arthur."

"Who is Arthur?"

"The pony."

"Your pony died and that's why you are scared?"

"It died while I was sitting on it."

Logan bit his lip, trying not to laugh.

"Your pony died while you were riding him?"

"Did I stutter?"

"How…"

"I was sitting on it and it died! Lord, are you deaf?" She exclaimed in frustration.

Buttercup started shaking her head nervously.

"Oh sorry. See I bring bad luck…"

"No you don't, Ace," he said stroking Buttercups shiny black neck murmuring things in a low voice till she calmed down. Even Rory shivered at the sound of that tone.

"Come on… It's absolutely beautiful here, but you only get there on horseback

"Fine! But if it dies, it's your fault…" Rory sighed.

"It won't die, Ace…" Logan said, giving her a boost.

"Oh… goodness." Rory said in a small voice. "It sure is high up here." Logan handed her the reins with a smile on his face.

"You'll be fine, but maybe it is a good idea to get you a helmet. I'll be right back."

"Logan…?" Rory meekly replied. Buttercup whinnied and started moving.

"Buttercup? Good horsy… Stop. Hush."

"Just pull the reins, Ace," Logan said. "That's what they are for."

He handed her the helmet.

"It's shaped like a ladybug…" Rory said taking the red and black dots helmet with antennas on top from him.

"It is."

"Why?"

"It's my nieces'. Or well I don't know what she is. She is Franks sisters daughter."

"She's…"

"11."

Rory put it on her head. Logan laughed.

"Glad you're amusing yourself."

Logan mounted Chinook and looked at Rory.

"Just relax, Ace."

"What? I am relaxed."

"No you are not. You're sitting there as if you are awaiting your execution. I wont let anything happen to you. Trust me." He said prompting Chinook into a slow walk. Rory did the same following him. When Logan moved Chinook into a trot, Rory pulled the reins.

"Logan, I can't shift gears."

"What?" Logan laughed.

"I cant drive nor ride stick shift."

"Well, Ace, Buttercup is an automatic." He laughed, "She'll follow Chinook."

"But not too fast ok?"

"Not too fast." Logan nodded.

* * *

"So you spent summers here?" Rory asked after a while of silence.

Logan nodded.

"Yeah. Gallivanting around with Wendy, driving Rose insane."

"Imagining you were the Hulk…"

"Imagining I was the Hulk..."

"Wendy seemed nice."

"She is. Too bad you two didn't get to know one another. She's getting married in April."

"Oh, wow…" Rory could not help but feel relieved.

"Yeah… it seems just yesterday that we burnt down the hayshed."

"How…" Rory's eyes grew.

"Long story involving two 10 year olds, an ingenious design of a rocket, matches and well hay…" Logan laughed.

Rory laughed.

"Lord you really were a pain in the butt. Wait, you still are…"

"I still am? I don't hear you complaining…" He winked.

"You are so … so… obnoxious."

"Again… I don't hear you complaining. If I am so repulsive why do you crawl in bed with me?"

Rory's cheeks turned bright red: "Well… I…."

"You…."

"I … need someone to warm my feet."

"I see. Parasite."

"Aw… and yesterday I was a donkey."

"You have just been degraded."

"I'm sad…"

"Yup… from now on you are a parasite.. fungus, on the hoof of the donkey."

Rory gasped.

"I'm not fungus! Otherwise you have sex with fungus! "

"What's the alternative? Sex with a donkey? Lord… change of subject. I'm not sure I like where this is leading."

"I'm not fungus! Fungus don't go to Yale."

"Smart fungus do."

"So I am smart fungus?"

"Just enjoy the scenery!"

"How? I'm fungus… I'm not sure I can enjoy scenery. I'm a decomposer of dead organic matter. I'm…"

"…. Missing the view." Logan interrupted.

Rory looked up and held her breath. They were standing on a small hill overlooking a lake. It was surrounded by spruces, their branches heavy with snow. The snow was glistering due to the first rays of sunshine.

It looked as if someone had scattered diamonds all over. The lake itself was frozen and covered in a transparent mist. And then there was the silence. It was so silent that it seemed another world.

"It's wow…. I'm afraid to breath it's so pretty," she whispered. Logan smiled pulling his scarf tighter around his neck.

"See what you would've missed…"

She turned to face him. The two antennas on the top of her ladybug helmet swayed lightly in the soft wind.

"Thank you." She said leaning in and letting her kiss say what words couldn't.

Buttercup had an agenda of her own though and started moving towards a bush nearby, causing Rory to lose balance. This time however she didn't fall... immediately. Logan wrapped an arm around her and tried to pull her off of Buttercup onto his own horse, but her foot was stuck in her stirrup and when it finally came loose he tipped backwards and tumbled down, pulling Rory with him. The bushes broke the fall.

"Oompf…" Rory brushed the snow out of her ears, trying to find her way out of the tangle of limbs. "You ok?"

"Some heavy fungus you are…" Logan laughed. "I think I broke my back."

"Really!" panic was shining through in her blue sapphire eyes.

"No… Aren't you a scardycat. I'm fine. Now where were we?" He smirked pulling her down.

* * *

Rose smiled when she saw Logan and Rory riding alongside, laughing, through the kitchen window. The helmet on Rory's head shining bright red from even that distance.

She really hoped Logan pulled his act together on this one.

"So she does ride?" Frank remarked following Rose' eyes.

"I don't know…I guess that doesn't matter. It has more to do with Logan's persuasion techniques…" She laughed.

"She's not a girl to date Logan, for my tase…"

"She isn't ."

"…Well…"

"She is in love with him Frank, and love makes people do things they normally wouldn't do."

"I like the girl."

"I think Logan likes her too, hon'." Rose smiled.

"I'll go make zucchini pancakes. They are probably starving. Boy, that girl can eat."

Frank said pulling a bowl and 2 zucchinis out of a cabinet.

"Frank!" Rose took a deep breath. "You have got to stop with the zucchinis. It's seriously not edible. People cannot eat zucchinis 24/7. Zucchini on toast for breakfast, zucchini soup or salad for lunch. Zucchini stew for dinner and zucchini in chocolate for dessert! No zucchinis! I'm putting my foot down. I love you, but from this day forward I do not want to see a zucchini in ten mile radius from this house."

Frank just eyed his wife.

"10 years…" he said. "10 years we have been married…"

"Yes…" Rose suddenly felt guilty.

"You have bared my zucchinis for 10 years…"

"I have…"

"You hate them?"

"I do… from the bottom of my heart."

"10 years."

"Yes…" Rose started to get worried. She didn't want to hurt his feelings.

Frank dropped the zucchinis on the floor and grabbed Rose by her shoulders attacking her with his lips.

Rose was speechless, utterly confused.

"You are not mad?" She asked in a small voice.

"No… I love you. And the fact that you put up with my zucchinis for a decade tells me that you love me too."

Rose only nodded.

Frank sighed.

"So… what about cucumbers…" Rose let out a laugh before enveloping him in another kiss.

"Oh my virgin eyes!" Logan exclaimed. Rose and Frank broke off their kiss only to see Logan and Rory in the doorway. A mischievous gleam in Logan's dark eyes, a sweet one in Rory's blue ones.

"Oh please, Logan, your eyes are everything but virgin." Rose said with a laugh.

"Breakfast anyone?" Frank asked. "What about pancakes with… apples."

Both Logan and Rory looked surprised and eyed Rose who gave them thumbs up. Where upon Logan broke down in laughter.

"Well **good **for you…" he said whipping the tears out of his eyes.

"So… pancakes?"

Rory nodded eagerly. Pulling the still laughing Logan further into the kitchen.

* * *

Goodbyes came soon and Rory couldn't help but feel a little sad to leave this place. It was like an alternate universe. So close to home, yet so far away. She loved the peace and quit here, the beauty, Rose and Frank, even Napoleon and then there was Logan who seemed so different here. Maybe because Rose had given her some insight in his complex personality, maybe because he felt at home here. She didn't know, but she liked the Logan she saw, though she had some trouble processing all the input she had gotten. She barely could look at him without feeling sympathy, wanting to console him, take away his pain, but also knew that he had to tell her himself before she could do any of it.

She watched as he put their bags in the trunk of the black SUV and walked around it to hug Rose and Frank.

"It was very nice to meet you, Rory. And I truly hope we will meet again." Frank said hugging her. She smiled. She hoped so too.

"Same here."

"Let me hug you, kid." Rose said wrapping her arms around Rory. "I have the feeling this is not the last time we meet, so I'm not saying goodbye."

Rory smiled. "I hope so."

"I know so." Rose replied. "My gut never lies."

"You are not going to the charity?" Rory asked.

"Not my kind of people. Plus Shira and I: not the best friends. And then there is my other sister, who is on the board of the foundation…" She smiled.

Rory could only imagine how weird it had to be for Logan. His step mom at a charity in the name of his mother.

"I really had a great time," Rory said. "Thank you… for everything."

Rose nodded.

"You are always welcome here. And use what I told you wisely." She said with a wink.

With a last squeeze she let Rory go. She squatted and scratched Napoleons ear. She had become fond of the little fur with an oversized personality. With a last wave she got in the car where Logan was already waiting.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yup."

"Buckle up." He told her as he shifted gears and drove off.

"Yes, dad."

Logan rolled his eyes.

"Fine if you want to become road kill don't fasten your seatbelt."

"I'm just kidding, Logan."

"I know." He said with a sigh. "Headache."

"Want me to drive?"

"That's ok. Stick shift remember?"

"Huh… well want some Aspirin?"

"Have some?"

"Yeah. In my purse."

She grabbed it from the back seat and dug in there for the box of Aspirin. When she couldn't find it she turned her purse upside down and shook the contents out of it. Tampons, gum wrappers, pens, lipstick, a sock, phone, wallet, half a candy bar, keys, tissues, markers, coins, a pencil sharpener, 4 different notebooks, a pantyhose, gum, bandages, mints, duck tape, a few screws, a toy car, antique candy wrappers and then of course aspirin piled in her lap.

"Dead mice in there?" Logan asked with a smile.

"Oh shush. You want a painkiller or not."

"Not if it hasn't seen daylight since the beginning of World War II, that is obviously still going in there…" he threw a glance at the contents of her purse.

Rory stuck her tongue out to him.

She handed him a pill and tried to open a bottle of water. Logan watched as she struggled with it and took it from her when she tried to wrench it open with her teeth.

"Hold the wheel," he said.

"No!" Rory exclaimed horrified.

"Just hold the wheel."

"No! Are you insane? Just stop."

"Ace… for one second hold the wheel."

"I am not holding the wheel!"

"Well too bad cause I'm letting go…"

Logan let go of the wheel and got a good grip on the water bottle as Rory yelped and grabbed the wheel. The car dangled lightly.

"You are horrible! You are a terrible stupid miscreant! What if we crashed?"

"Then it would've been a good thing that you are buckled up." Logan replied downing the little white pill of salvation and putting his hand on the wheel again.

"Thanks."

Rory on the other hand made no attempts of removing her limbs.

"Ace? You can let go now."

"Till next time that you go crazy." She said moody.

"Come on, Ace… I didn't juggle grenades here. I let go of the wheel, but only because I knew you would take it."

"And what if I didn't? What if I had gotten an epileptic seizure and hadn't taken the wheel?"

"And what if a giant meteorite had hit earth?"

"Stop mocking me."

"Then stop exaggerating. Nothing happened."

She looked at him, still mad, but let go.

"Goody, the evil eye."

* * *

They drove in silence for a while. Logan sneaked a glance once in a while, but Rory was sternly staring out of the window, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Grandma got ran over by a reindeer, walking home from our house on Christmas eve. You can say there is no such thing as Santa, but as for me and grandpa we believe…" he sang. "She been drinking to much eggnog and we begged her not to go but she forgot her medication.. and she staggered out the door into the snow. When we found her Christmas morning at the scene of the attack she had hoof prints on her forehead…"

"Oh my GOD!" Rory exclaimed with a laugh. "Stop, just stop! You are so so…"

He winked at her with a smile.

"Can't have you all cranky."

"Just promise me you wont sing that ever again…"

"Scouts honor," He said and opened the vocals again.

"If God had long hair and a goat tee…"

"LOGAN!"

"Can't sing that either?"

"No! Just don't sing at all…"

"You are not fair."

"Life isn't. Deal with it." She said and regretted the words immediately. If someone knew that live was unfair it was Logan.

"So where do you have those hideous songs from?" she asked.

"Cant sing them, but I have to tell you where they are from?" He asked smirking.

"Yup."

"Well Finn + winter break + massive amounts of alcohol equal said songs of the genre."

Rory laughed.

"You must be pretty musical yourself." Rory tried cautiously.

"Why do you think that?"

"Oh.. uh.. I don't know… you sang them with such… flair."

"Well I know one about a hairy butt…"

"I don't want to hear it!"

"Cultural barbarian!"

"…. When a girl is lying in the dark, her brand new lover's naked in her bed she runs her finger down his body and lets out a scream that wakes the dead… her hands are tangled in his hairy…" Rory clasped her hand over his mouth.

"You finish that and you are sleeping on the couch."

The sound of his muffled laugh filled the car.

* * *

"Do you like it?" Logan asked Rory. She had been walking around their suit for 15 minutes now without saying a word.

Rory turned around, smiling.

"Like it? I love it!"

"It's just a hotel room, Ace." Logan smirked.

"I know. It's just I thought we would stay at "The Plaza" or "Four Seasons" knowing you."

" We can still go to the Plaza or Four Seasons if you want."

" No! No! This is perfect. It's just I didn't expect it from you. It's so homey and still pretty and so not over the top but sophisticated and still chic." She raved brushing her fingers over the beautiful black grand piano in the middle of the living room.

Logan laughed.

"I like the Soho Grand too, Ace."

"I always wanted to play the piano…" she said quietly. Attempt number two.

"So why didn't you?" he asked.

"I don't know…" She shrugged.

"You need to get ready." He said, "They are waiting for you downstairs."

"Who?" Rory asked confused.

"The people, that are going to groom you…"

"Oh…I am going to be groomed?"

Logan nodded with a smile and pushed her out the door.

For 2 hours she was peeled, combed, exfoliated, massaged, painted… She was laying in a chair as her pedicure was being done and wondered how to subtly get Logan to talk to her. She bit on her nail and got a little smack on her head from Pablo… the manicure man.

* * *

When she finally got upstairs again dressed in a robe. The suit was empty.

" Logan?" she called.

No answer. She walked into the bedroom and noticed a large black box with a smaller one sitting on top. She made her way to the bed and picked up the note, that held Logan's distinctive handwriting. The letters were tipped backwards, round and swaying but still a little messy.

_I'm at the lounge. Come and surprise me, when you are ready. _

_Logan_

She opened the smaller box and gasped at the sight of a pair of red satin Jimmy Choo peep toe heels. Those shoes had to cost a fortune. Carefully she removed the lid of the bigger box, pushed the thin paper aside and pulled out a plain blue silk dress. The fabric felt so soft, the blue was so pure. She pulled it on and shivered when the cool silk brushed against her skin. It reminded her of Logan in a way. The way his fingertips and breath made her skin tingle. When she looked in the mirror she couldn't believe that it was her staring back. The dress left a distinct V on the front, showing off her creamy skin. It was teasing, but not vulgar. It fell to the floor, hugging every right curve, molding with her body as a second skin. The blue slightly glistering in the dim bedroom light. She stepped in her shoes and pulled out the matching shawl. Her hair was pulled back in a big bun, a read ribbon around her head. Her make- up light, drawing attention to her lips, that were a dark full read.

* * *

She took a deep breath and made her way downstairs after one last look in the mirror. She felt naked walking to the lobby. Dozens of eyes following her every move. When she entered the lounge her eyes started seeking for Logan. And the whole lounge sought with her. People where shamelessly staring at her. When she spotted Logan in one of the lounge chairs reading a paper and nursing his favorite scotch, and started waking up to her, the eyes of her beholders moved with her, _'lucky bastard' _written on them, when they noticed who she was looking. She stopped in front of him, but he didn't seem to notice her. He scoffed at what he read and turned the page, mumbling something in the manner of idiots. He looked sharp in his tux, yet Rory had to smile at the blond battle on his head.

"Hey," she said softly causing him to look up.

His eyes darkened a couple of shades when they met hers. He didn't say anything just let his eyes wander over her body. Leaving her eyes, resting on her lips for a while, tracing her neck and collarbone, teasingly brushing past her cleavage, hugging her waist and hips. Rory blushed. It felt as if he really touched her in front of all those people.

Logan was dumbstruck, astonished, stupefied, caught by speechless admiration. She was so beautiful that it made him dizzy.

"Logan?" Rory asked unsurely after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes?" he answered in a foreign voice.

"Say something."

He stood up, Rory couldn't help but smile. He looked almost annoyingly handsome.

"I'm speechless."

"Well there is a new development." Rory joked.

"Huh… very funny," he said huskily pressing her against his body. "I can't voice maybe, but I can let you feel…" he whispered in her ear, causing her to turn bright red

"We are going to be late.." Rory said trying to free herself from his grip.

"Are we now?" He looked at her, in a very not innocent way, deepening her scarlet till it almost hit wine red. He then smiled letting her go.

"Breath, Ace, I'm not going to have my way with you here… now…"

He put on his cashmere coat and took her hand leading her through the lobby to the awaiting limo.

Rory's white skin nearly turned blue, when it came into contact with the freezing February wind. She shivered when the driver shut the door.

"Could you turn up the heat, please?" Logan asked the driver, noticing that Rory shivered. "Thank you."

Rory looked at him, trying to read what he felt. This charity had to have some affect on him. Sadness, joy. His face was completely blank though.

He smiled at her. "So… not that you need it, but it's custom to have some frosting on these kind of events."

"Frosting?" she asked confused.

He nodded pulling out black velvet box from the inside pocket of his coat and handed it to her.

Rory opened it and shut it immediately with a gasp.

"No!" she said handing it back to him.

"Ace, come on…"

"Tell me this is a loan."

"It is a loan." He said with a sigh.

"Like you mean it!"

"Rory…"

"No! This, dress, these shoes… I mean it all costs a fortune! You are not going to give me a necklace and earrings. Do you hear me?"

"Ace, you do not have to worry about me going bankrupt any time soon. I bought it because I can. If I would live in a cardboard box under a bridge, I would make you a necklace out of pebbles and a rope. Since that is not the case, we are going to do this all over again. And when I show it to you I want to hear a why is it not pink instead of a

No." he smirked. "Ready?"

He opened the box and pulled out a briolette Y-necklace out of white gold and aquamarine beads, ending in a single drop.

"It's beautiful…" Rory said barely above a whisper.

"That'll do it too." He smiled fastening it around her neck. "It does you justice."

He watched as she put in the hanging earrings.

"I'm afraid to move wearing all that money."

"Rory, **YOU **are priceless running around naked. You wear this stuff. It doesn't wear you."

She smiled at him.

"Thank you."

* * *

It was an event like Rory had never seen before. Located in the Four Seasons it held the crème de la crème of high society, celebrities, politicians. Served was the best champagne, food that looked to pretty to eat.

"Logan…" a woman addressed them.

They turned around and saw a blond woman standing in front of them.

"Shira…" Logan's voice sounded poisonous.

"Your father asks to talk to you." She said, taking in Rory with a cocky raised eyebrow.

"Then he come and find me." Was Logan's answer.

Shira scoffed, turned on her heel and took of.

As soon as Shira was out of sight Logan's demeanor changed to his charming old self again.

"Are you ok?" she asked, lightly touching his arm.

"Of course I'm ok, why wouldn't I be ok?" he laughed. "Come on, lets not let the music go to waist."

He pulled her on to the dance floor capturing her into an embrace.

"So you and Shira…"

"Everything is fine, Ace." He answered as they swayed on the soft music. "Have I told you that you look beautiful already?"

Rory sighed. She was becoming tired of his games.

After two songs a tall man made his way to the two of them.

"Logan." He said. "Why do you have to be so difficult?"

Logan sighed.

"I don't know, dad. Why do you?"

Rory looked from one man to the other. Here she was standing in front of the great Michum Huntzberger and all she could think of was to kick him for abandoning his son when he needed him the most.

"Did you do rounds?"

"No dad, I didn't."

"Then go. There are lots of people here tonight, that want to talk to you."

"I'm kind of busy." He looked at Rory.

Mitchum's eyes, that also were Logan's looked at her too.

"I'm sure your …. **date **can entertain herself." He said.

"Careful now…" was Logan's answer.

"Grow up, Logan. Stop fucking around, stop embarrassing me." Michum hissed. " Bringing some cheap…"

"You finish that sentence and I'll show you embarrassing." Logan's jaw was clenched.

Rory was shocked, that this was a conversation between father and son.

Mitchum didn't finish his sentence, though Rory could see how much effort it took him to not set his son 'straight'.

"Do your rounds," he said in an icy voice before walking away.

"Logan..?"

"It's ok, Ace. Just ignore him."

"I can't." She answered.

"I know he's a jerk… Just don't think about him." Logan smiled.

"Don't do that." She said quietly.

"What?"

"Pretend that it is fine."

"It is…"

"No Logan it isn't!"

He could see the hurt in her eyes and was confused for a moment.

"If it is about what Mitchum said… The man is a bastard. Don't take it personally."

"It's not about what Mitchun said! It's about you pretending that it's raining roses! How can I not take it personally, Logan? How can I not take YOU personally!" When he didn't answer she scoffed.

"Fine I'm glad you are happy." She said turning around. "Have a nice evening!"

With that she ran out. The blue fabric tangling with her legs. She didn't bother to get her shawl and went straight for the big golden doors. She gasped when the cold wind hit her skin, but didn't care. Swiftly crossing the street she disappeared into snow-clad Central Park.


	8. One step forward

**Disclaimer: **Do not owe Gilmore Girls.

**AN: Your reviews: WOW! Eternally grateful, that is what I am. Hope you like this one! Please review:)**

**Chapter 8.** **_One step forward_**

Logan blinked a few times. She had taken off like the wind, giving him no time to react. He too made his way out of the room, snatched his coat from the wardroom employer and made his way outside into the cold night. He pulled it closer around his body. Looking left and right. Trying to figure out which way she went.

"Are you looking for the lady in blue, sir?" the doorman asked.

"Yes!" Logan looked at him.

"She disappeared into Central Park, sir. No coat, nothing. She looked pretty upset."

Logan thanked the man and ran across the street searching for her in the dim lit park. He walked in a hurried pace. In a way with a goal, in a way completely unsure of where to go. But his legs carried him to the Gabstowe bridge, overlooking the now frozen lake. It was like a sixth sense, that she was going to be there. He let out a breath he didn't he was holding, when he saw her standing in the middle of the bridge.

"Rory…" he called. "What are you doing? It's freezing here."

She looked at him, tears glistering in her eyes. He could see she was shivering.

"I know my dad is a j…"

"GOD! It's not about your father! How can you not understand!" She exclaimed.

"Then WHAT is it about?" Logan called out frustrated. "WHAT!"

His voice was angry. His demeanor ridged.

"About you…" She said softly. "When were you going to tell me that Libby Ross was your mother? I felt SO stupid when Rose told me. I knew nothing about you. ZERO! How can you take me to such an event and give me nothing! Your dad was right! How can you just take someone from the street to such an important event! And then you act as if there is nothing wrong. How can you be ok! How can you just act like nothing is wrong in your life! Because as I see it… there is more screwed up than there is normal." Her voice was getting louder and louder till she was yelling at him.

Logan was silent for a while.

"You are right… my life is fucked up. And I don't ACT fine, I AM fine! And I don't need your bloody sympathy! What is it you exactly want from me! That I tell you that my mom died of cancer when I was 16? That my dad remarried the bitch from hell! That suddenly I was all sad and alone, crying in the frikkin' corner? And that nobody loved me! That I was banned to Europe!" he yelled.

"Logan…"

"No, really… what kind of drama do you expect? Yes, my mom died. Yes my dad remarried and like you saw earlier: my step mom and I are not exactly getting along! But it was MY choice to go to Europe. I was not a pathetic lonely goddamn wreck as you think! Open your pretty blue eyes and look around! Life isn't perfect!" His voice broke.

"Logan…"

He was breathing heavily.

"I was not making up theories or trying to analyze you. I just wanted you to trust me." She said tears streaming down her cheeks, leaving hot traces.

Logan drew in a deep shaky breath.

"Why?"

"Why! Because I see you struggle and I don't know why and because…" she let out a sob.

"Rory…?"

"And because I love you! And I try and try and try and you keep pushing me away! And that hurts Logan! I know this is not what you signed up for… but you brought me here… and I thought.. that it meant something and then you just…" the last part he couldn't understand.

He was a little thrown by her confession, he opened his mouth, but closed it again, not able to find the words. Speechless twice in a night all because of this girl, he thought. Instead he pulled her ice cold body into his embrace and into the warmth of his coat. She sobbed in his shoulder, mumbling things he couldn't decipher, as he tried to calm her stroking her hair.

"I never meant to hurt you." He said softly. "Never." He could have started raving about how he had told her that this would happen, but he couldn't because the situation didn't apply anymore. He, himself was attached to her in more ways then the eye could see. He had never seen her cry… except for the night she hit her head. But these were different tears. Emotional ones, heavy with months of frustration and pain.

"Shhh... don't cry. I'm going to sing again." She looked up at him smiling, her face all stained. Logan drew in a deep breath. It was the most beautiful smile he had seen of her. One that struggled through tears. She sniffled whipping her eyes. Her breathing still unsteady.

They stood there for what seemed forever in each others embrace. Two people, both hurt in their own way by each other and yet in need of consoling.

Time flew. Half an hour, an hour, neither of them knew. At some point they started walking towards the hotel, sluggish as a heavy four legged creature wearing a coat. They didn't go back to the party, but got into the waiting limo instead. As they drove through the winter streets of Big Apple, neither of them spoke, both were sunk deeply into thoughts. Rory was leaning against him covered in Logan's warm coat drawing in the feeling of him so nearby, not sure how they would be in the morning.

* * *

In their hotel room she smiled at him tiredly. All she wanted was to crawl between some soft sheets and sleep for a century. Who knew that crying was so exhausting. Logan watched her silently getting undressed, the blue dress falling in a heap at her feet, her hair following the lines of her shoulders and back. She wanted to unclasp her bra, but her arms felt tons heavy and she let them dangle down her body. She closed her eyes, sighing, when his warm hands undid the lace garment for her. He ran his hands down her arms, stepping back. Rory crawled in the bed, not bothering to find her pajamas and drifted of to sleep as soon as her head hit her pillow.

"Goodnight," Logan whispered, closing the doors of the bedroom behind him. His thoughts were cloudy, no way he could sleep now.

* * *

It was a melody that slowly enticed her out of her dream. At first she thought it was a part of it, and slumbered not opening her eyes. But as she became more and more aware of her surroundings and her dream faded away, there still was the melody that silently seemed to lure her out of bed. She glanced at the clock. It was 4.12 a.m. The bed next to her had not been touched. She wondered where Logan was. Slowly she got out of bed searching for the silk robe she had brought and pulling it on. Barefoot she padded to the sliding doors and pushed one open, the music she had heard louder. Flawless tones of a piano floating her way. Soundlessly she crossed the study area opening yet another door. The sound of the grand piano now fully surrounding her. Then it stopped. The silence suddenly unwelcome.

"Don't stop," she said entering the dark room further.

"Did I wake you?" He asked.

"It's a nice way to wake up." She smiled and though she couldn't see it because of the darkness she could've sworn he smiled back.

"May I?" She asked referring to the piano bench. Logan moved over, making place for her. She sat down next to him, unsure of how to approach him.

"It was beautiful what you played…" she finally said.

"It was her favorite. I've heard it so many times I can probably play it backwards." He smirked. Her eyes slowly accustomed to the lack of light and she could see him fairly well. He had changed into a Yale T-shirt and sweats, his hear was wet from a shower, she didn't hear him take.

"Did your mom teach you?"

Logan steered his eyes in her direction, uncertain, but he bit through it.

"Yeah… When I was little I used to hide under the piano when she thought her pupils."

Rory smiled at that.

"Like Shirley Temple…"

"You did not just compare me to a tapping girl with ringlets."

"She used to hide under the piano…Play some more." His fingers resumed darting over the keys. It seemed effortless, the way the sounds flowed in to one another, effortless how he turned the black and white keys into a million colors.

"What is that?" she asked.

"An ode to Shirley Temple.." he smirked.

"Logan…seriously…" She was glad he was joking, maybe he wasn't at ease, but he made her comfortable. When he joked it seemed that the world wasn't a scary place.

"It's…" he closed his eyes, "a little Bach, a little Chopin, a little mom and a little me."

"You just do that from the top of your head?" she asked amazed.

"Lets call it .. mmmm… Copy/Paste." He laughed.

"It's a beautiful thing she left you." Rory said smiling.

He nodded.

"She would've loved you."

Rory smiled looking down, not sure how to approach him further.

"The way Rose talked about her. She seemed special."

"She was… She was the kind of mom every kid deserves to have. Too bad you don't realize that till she's gone." The tone of the music shifted to something soothing, almost childlike.

"Brahms," he told her. "It's a lullaby. She used to play that for us. First for me then for Lena." He smirked, "I used to play that for Lena. Crybaby. Hasn't changed much. Still the same drama queen."

"Lena is your sister?"

"Yeah, she's a 16 year old brat, driving me insane every chance she gets. Yet… I love her to death. You two would probably get along superbly: embarrass Logan on the menu everyday."

Rory chuckled then turned serious again, the pressure on her chest getting heavier.

"Logan…"

"I know." He sighed. He knew. He knew so well.

She looked at him question marks in her eyes.

"We can't go on like this. I've been thinking about that too."

"You have?" she asked, feeling sad. She was going to miss him.

"I have…"

"And?" she carefully asked.

"And nothing… The thing is; I don't know whether it's fair towards you to put up with me any longer."

Rory tried to formulate an answer.

"On the other hand… I'm asking you to bare with me a bit longer." There he had said it. 4 hours of pondering out in the open.

"I don't want to be one of the many anymore, Logan." She said softly.

He only nodded.

"Me neither…" It was the truth.

She looked at him surprised. Wondering if she had heard him right through the rivers of flowing notes filling up the space around her. Logan let his hands fall in to his lap.

"You were the only one in my bed and in my head and in my tub for the past 3 weeks." He said with a smile. "Since the Finn-incident."

"Well three weeks isn't exactly…"

"… a long term commitment? It's a start… don't you think? Look," he sighed, " I want you. It's as simple or as complicated as that. It depends on you. But I'll tell you that that I am not going anywhere and that I'm not letting YOU go just like that."

Rory's heart was racing. Could she believe him? It sounded surreal after all this time. She had waited for him so long, that she didn't really know what to do with it.

"Say something, Rory."

"No other girls." She blurted out.

"No other girls." Logan nodded.

"And no pushing me away, when something hard comes along."

"Everything you want to know."

"You." She said.

"What?"

"I want to know you."

"I'm not sure you are going to like what you see…" he said with an unsure smile.

"I'll take my chances." Rory answered taking his hand in hers.

Logan leaned in to kiss her, feeling relieved, yet she evaded him, burying her face in his neck.

"AndIwannasleepontheleft.." she murmured

"What was that?"

"I want to sleep on the left."

"Don't push it." He smirked catching her lips with his, drawing her body closer, till she sat in his lap. He moved their daintiness to her neck, her chest, his lips lightly stroking her skin. So lightly that it could've as well been a gushes of air. Butterfly kisses. She gasped as his hand started traveling up her inner thigh. Needing some support, she let her arm fall down on the piano keys, jumping up when the room echoed with all the wrong combinations.

"Why so nervous?" Logan asked. "It's not like we haven't done this before. Well we didn't have a piano.. maybe a good thing after all."

Rory blushed, feeling awkward.

"This is different…"

"It is." He smiled warmly before getting up, not letting her go. In silence he carried her to the bedroom, laying her down on the bed and closing the doors.

* * *

Rory awoke warm and happy. Still half asleep she stretched out her arm in search of Logan's body.

"Hmpf.." she let out when she noticed that he wasn't there.

What was up with him? She listened for a while, but didn't hear him play. With a sigh she got out of bed, pulling all the downy covers with her. She found him on the couch of the living groom , clad in his robe, watching C-SPAN, surrounded by loads of food.

"This is a crime in the Gilmore rulebook, you know.." she said smirking.

Logan looked up. She looked like a fat caterpillar all rolled up in the warm covers.

"What is?"

"Well, mister, you actually broke more than one rule."

"Is that so? Blame it on my parents. An unhappy childhood." He joked patting the spot next to him.

"Mhm.. You made me wake up alone. Crime number one." Then she looked up at him. Concern in her eyes. "Did you sleep at all?"

"I did… couple of hours." He pulled her closer, playing with her hair.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"No. Too much on my mind." Rory looked to the ground, not wanting to be nosy, but having trouble knowing where was the line. Logan squeezed her lightly.

"Good on my mind. Not bad."

"So what **is** on your mind?" she asked. If it was good maybe he wanted to share.

"Mostly you and memories." He smiled. "The melancholia just kicked in. So what is my second crime?"

"Well…" she put on a stern, straight face. "Food consumption without sharing with a Gilmore."

"Oh now that is bad. I really should acquire the said "Gilmore Rulebook"."

"You can't. It's not a manuscript! It's all in my head. Mine and moms."

"So you can change it, the way you are always right? You do now that the French revolution started that way?"

"Are you planning on revolting?"

" I might. Bagel?" Rory nodded. This felt nice. No secrets, tons of girls on the side. Just him and her and a bagel with jam.

She sighed taking a bite and sinking more into his embrace.

"So… girlfriend. Is there anything you want to do in Big Apple, before we head home?"

Logan asked. Girlfriend. Rory stopped chewing. That one word made the world stop for a moment. She smiled.

"Hmmm… there is one thing…"

* * *

"No, Ace, really. You wont get me out there with brute force."

"Come on. It's fun! It's winter!" Rory tried one more time pulling the laces of her skates tighter.

"No. I do not skate. Think what it would do to my image."

"I bet you look cute on skates."

"Nice one… kissing ass won't help, Ace." He laughed. "Go… do a quadruple schnitzelberger, or what it is you do. I'll watch. After all; someone has to call 911 when you brake your neck."

"I'll do a Huntzberger if you come with me…" she wiggled her eyebrows. Logan was shocked for a moment.

"Did those words just leave your mouth?"

Rory blushed.

"Oh my God they did! Seriously, Ace, there are little children here." He looked around the Central Park skating rink and started laughing. "You should consider a career change.."

"Oh come on!" she exclaimed in frustration hitting him on his stomach. "What does a girl have to do to get her boyfriend on the ice!"

Logan chuckled.

"Kiss me?"

She started moving towards him, but then stopped.

"I'll kiss you…" She said with a mischievous smile. "Out there…" and jumped on to the ice.

She was getting good, the little wrench. He contemplated whether to give her what she wanted or put his foot down. If he did go there, he would yield to her, and boy would she use that in the future. If he didn't he would be in charge if the situation, but would miss out on Rory and her kiss. Oh what the hell… he thought with a smirk and went to get a pair of skates.

Rory laughed, watching him struggle on the ice. He looked amiably helpless. She wondered whether he ever had skated in his life. Losing his balance he nearly knocked over a five year old, that began screaming uncontrollably. A angry looking mother came to give Logan a piece of her mind. While Logan patiently listened to her rant he threw Rory a glance that couldn't mean anything good. She snickered. Yep. Life looked pretty perfect right now. He had almost reached her when his feet seemed to go in two different directions and his butt made contact with the slippery surface.

"Are you ok?" she asked laughing, while leaning over him.

"Hmm.. am I ok? I let you talk me in to wearing these hideous inventions, I had to listen to the hysterical mother of that spoiled brat – which reminds me again why I don't want to have kids - and I think I broke several bones in my ass. You better kiss me, woman, and make it good."

Laughing Rory helped him up. He clasped his arms around her waist for support and took a deep breath. It felt great to have Logan all helpless for once, her being the hero in town.

She moistened her lips with a casual flick of her tongue and brushed them lightly against his, cupping his face with her gloved hands. The brief contact of her lips caused a wave of heat rush to his head as he crashed his lips in to hers. Rory almost lost her balance as his lips locked onto hers with a force she had never experienced before. He traced her bottom lip with his tongue, ushering her to let him in and she happily complied. For the second time in 24 hours they stood in Central Park, in a tight embrace, completely oblivious to the world around them.


	9. Two steps back

**Disclaimer: Do not own Gilmore Girls.. makes me sad. **

**AN: Sorry, that I took so long to update this, but I was pretty busy with school these past few weeks :) Chappie 10 is already thought out, just have to type it out, but first things first. I hope you like it. :) And thank you for all the wonderful, amazing, great, magnificent reviews. (does my point come across? Hehe) You really motivate me. Without further due… tudududu chapter 9! Read and review :)**

_Chapter 9 **Two steps back**_

"Just like a 4! Down- right- down…" Logan laughed.

"It's not working!!" Rory was frantically trying to get the car in it's 4th gear.

"Down…" Logan's hand was resting on top of hers, "right… and down again…" Rory sighed and pouted.

"This is stupid."

"I'm going to teach you how to drive stick shift if it is the last thing that I do."

"Why would one want to drive stick shift when you can drive automatic… well automatically…"

"I could go on and on…" She stuck her tongue out at him.

"You just like torturing me!"

"Hey I put on skates for you… humiliating as that was I did… now stop pouting missy, you are on a highway and you are shifting the damn car in it's 4!"

Just then someone knocked on the window. Logan opened it.

"What are you people doing?"

"I'm teaching Ace how to drive stick shift."

"Yes, Finn, I'm on a highway now."

"You are standing in the parking lot, love. " He deadpanned.

"Oh, where is your imagination, Finn!"

"Sorry, it's just bloody early…"

"It's 4 pm."

"Exactly. So…can I get a ride?" He got in the back of the car and buckled up.

"Whereto, Finnegan?" Rory asked, looking at the Australian through the rearview mirror.

"To New York!!!"

"New York it is…"

A week had passed since their trip to New York. Things had calmed down a little. The drama subsided. The initial shock of the fact that Logan Huntzberger had a monogamous relationship had washed away and now they could quietly explore their new found ' agreement' and most of all each other. They talked. For the first time in their relationship they really talked. Hours filled with conversation. He told her what she wanted to know. She was like a sponge, sucking up every detail that left his mouth. In a way she had some catching up to do. Yet he still found it hard to tell her things out of the blue, without her asking or guiding their conversation. She didn't push him, hoping that he would ease into it as time went by.

"This is boring…" Finn whined. "Can't we reenact some horrible car crash or something?"

"Finn, this is a teaching session!" Logan groaned.

"But we are not driving!"

"Finn! So you are on a highway and you are going from 40 to 60 mph… you put him in its 4 and then ease over in to … "

"Vroomvroomvroomvrooooom EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW -ah -eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew AAAAAAAAAAH IIIIIIIIIH BOINK!!!! I think we killed that koala! Step on it, sister! We have to get out of here!" Finn went wild on the back seat.

Rory started laughing uncontrollably, doubling over the wheel.

Finn was still screaming hysterically, bouncing in his seat. The car gently rocked on his wheels.

"There are no koala's in Connecticut, Finn… after 8 years… would you adjust already? It's getting old you screaming that there is a black widow in your shoe or that there is a wombat hiding in your closet. Just learn the flora and fauna of the state, mate. " Logan laughed.

"Well this was a koala… or a very ugly dog. And do not diss the wombat, mate. It really was there!" Finn explained.

"I'm sad... I just killed a koala…now I never want to drive stick shift again!" Rory pouted.

"Cute, Ace. Put me out of my misery will ya? Just shift that stick!"

"Fine... down… right…" Just then the three of them let out a scream as Colin jumped on the hood out of nowhere, yelling like a maniac and plastering his face against the front window. In a sheer panic reflex Rory turned on the windshield wipers and Colin got a few decent hits on his nose before he could make his escape.

Finn and her boyfriend seemed to have the time of their lives as tears were streaming down their cheeks.

"NOT FUNNY!" Rory yelled, her heart still racing. Angry she got out of the car and slammed the door shut. Colin seemingly in pain, clutched his nose. She gave him a deadly glare.

"Idiot!" she exclaimed stomping her foot to emphasize her irritation. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!!"

"Logan?!" Colin yelled, "I'm starting to find your girlfriend scary!"

* * *

"Hey, you still awake?" Logan asked. 

They were sitting at their usual table at the pub and Rory's head was resting on his shoulder. She hadn't said a word in 15 minutes. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face and noticed that her eyes were closed.

"Huh… no. I'm awake." She opened one eye.

"Sure you are." Logan chuckled. "Come on I'll take you home."

"No really. I'm not tired…" she said stiffening a yawn.

"I can practically see what you had for dinner yesterday." He joked pulling her up. "Lads, I have to put this baby in bed."

Rory pouted, but didn't protest as Logan helped her put on her coat. They said goodbye to Colin and Seth. Finn was not in sight.

"You want me to call a cab?" Logan asked once outside.

Rory shook no finding his hand and entwining her fingers with his.

"I want to walk." She said looking up to him. "I don't want to say bye to you yet."

Logan chuckled.

"And why do you have to say bye to me?"

"My mom and I are having lunch tomorrow… And I have to help grandma before that. Soooo… no boyfriend tomorrow… and you leave for Chicago the day after that and I wont see you for whole 4 days!"

"Aw… You pore thing."

"Valentines day is next week…" Rory sighed, while they turned the corner. Her heels echoing into the frosty night.

"It is. Another stupid Hallmark holiday. Waist of time… waist of money… waist of pink." Logan sighed as air escaped in little clouds out of his mouth.

Rory looked at him biting her lip.

"What you don't agree?"

Rory shrugged.

"I think it's nice."

"It's stupid. Why do people need a day to express their feelings towards each other… it's in contradiction to the fact that you have to love everyday in life." He kissed her cheek.

"We are here."

She spun around kissing him lightly on the lips with a sigh.

"Can't you… oh well I don't know… reschedule your grandma? I kind of want to see you…" he smiled.

Rory groaned.

"I could come down with the flu…"

"Yes… I heard that was going around and…" he kissed her forehead, "You do feel warm."

She giggled.

"You are corrupting me, Huntzberger."

He laughed pulling her in his embrace.

"Well… I don't think anyone can make you do anything you don't want, so Gilmore… you so do want to be corrupted…"

Her arms slid in his coat and around his waist.

"Stay here tonight?" she asked in a whisper in his ear.

"Hmmm… depends." He smirked.

"Depends on what?"

"Well… on what you are serving for breakfast."

"Coffee," she kissed the spot behind his ear.

"Colin can make great coffee too."

"Bagels," her lips traveled down his jaw.

"Hmm..the bakery across the street from my place has the best bagels in town."

"My company…" she found his smiling lips.

"Now I can't say no to that."

With a smile Rory fished the key out of her bag and stuck it in the lock, all the while Logan traced kisses down her neck.

* * *

"Grandma? It's Rory." Rory said in a soft voice, trying to feign a bad cold. Logan didn't make it easier, kissing her neck and her back and whispering things in her ear that certainly wouldn't get a PG sticker. 

"Rory, you sound funny," Emily Gilmore remarked.

"STOP IT!" she mouthed to Logan giving him a shove.

"I don't feel that well. Ehm… is it very bad if I miss the meeting today? I'd still send you the seating plans and would handle the music."

"Well it's an important meeting, Rory. But if you are sick you are sick. We wouldn't want you to get the other DAR ladies sick, would we now."

Rory nearly shouted out loud as Logan poked her side and hit him jumping out of bed and running to the bathroom, locking the door.

"I understand, grandma, and I'm sorry." She said sitting down on the toilet.

"You are out of breath why are you out of breath and why is the sound of your voice suddenly different?"

Frantically she tried to think of an excuse, then rolled her eyes and started coughing.

"Oh, dear, that doesn't sound good. You stay in bed."

"I will, grandma, tell the DAR ladies I am sorry."

"I will, dear, get well soon."

"Thanks, grandma, bye." She hung up and smirked opening the door, letting out a shriek as Logan grabbed her out of nowhere.

"YOU!YOU!YOU…!" she yelled as he tossed her on her bed.

"Me, me, me what?" he asked hovering above her.

"Are impossible." She finished losing herself in his eyes.

"Isn't that why you love me?" he smirked.

"Partly…" she grinned pulling him down in a kiss.

* * *

A knock on the door woke her. She must have dozed off. With a glance at the clock she got out of the otherwise empty bed. 11 am. Grabbing her bathrobe from the floor she padded to the common room looking around for Logan and opened the door. 

"Fruit of my loins!"

Her heart stopped.

"Mom….hey, you're early."

"Yeah… Emily called, said you were sick so here I am to practice my motherly duties."

"Ehm… you didn't have to do that." Rory said her heart racing a mile a minute.

Lorelai entered the room looking around.

"Were you about to take a shower?" she asked.

"Huh? What no…"

"Then is there someone else here? Or do you like the melodic sound of the running water." Lorelai joked.

Rory paled. Oh-My- God, she thought. Logan.

"Uhm someone here? No one here." She said way too quickly, praying that Logan wouldn't come out. Then suddenly the water stopped.

"Magical shower…" Lorelai said, "it has a life of it's own. If I wouldn't know you better I would think you were hiding someone…" She raised her eyebrows… picking up Logan's jacket, that was casually slung back over a chair.

"A guy?"

"That oh, that's Marty's. He left it the other day," she said looking to the ground.

"Marty?" Lorelai asked with raised eyebrows, "Did Marty win the lottery? Rory, who are you hiding."

"What?! It's Marty's."

"Rory, this is a fur-lined leather jacket. Marty can't afford a jacket like that. Stop lying to me. Why are you lying to me? To your grandmother?"

"I'm not laying to you!"

"Ace… did you by any chance see my shirt?" a muffled voice returned from the bathroom.

Lorelai's face clouded as she looked at her daughter.

"Marty huh…" she asked, her voice cold.

"Ace? Where did you go? Isn't your mom com…" He stopped, tightening his grip on the towel around his waist.

"Hi." Lorelai said. "So how long have you been sleeping with my daughter?"

"Eh…" Logan tried to find the right words, looking at Rory for help.

"Don't answer that." She said.

"No, do answer that. I'm Rory's mother by the way."

"Nice to meet you?" he uttered puzzled.

"Forgive me if I don't concur." She stated bitterly.

"You can better go." Rory said quietly.

He tried to find her eyes, yet she evaded his gaze. With a sigh he nodded and disappeared in her bedroom to get dressed. In silence he took his jacket from the chair, never leaving Lorelai out of sight as if she could attack him every second. He contemplated whether to say something or keep to quiet.

"Call me?" he asked in conclusion of his thought.

She nodded with a sad smile, before he closed the door behind him, hoping she would be ok.

"So do you want to tell me how long this has been going on, miss I'm so sick I can't get out of bed?" Lorelai asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Almost 6 months." She answered barely audible.

"6 months! You have been lying to me for 6 months?!" Rory cringed. It was the pain in her mothers voice that stung her. "You have had a boyfriend for 6 months and you didn't bother to tell me?! Why?!"

"He wasn't my boyfriend."

"He is not your boyfriend?"

"He is… now." She answered sheepishly.

"But you have been sleeping with him for 6 months. Lord every time I got you out of Friday night dinner, every time you were 'sick' " she used air quotes. "You lied to me. I lied for you!"

"Not everytime."

"Last week New York."

Rory looked away.

"Today's flu attack, Thanksgiving! And then just sleeping with some random guy! This is NOT YOU!" she exclaimed.

"I'm not a child anymore, mom."

"No." Lorelai took her bag from the table. "I guess you're not."

With that as her last words she left, slamming the door behind her. Rory clasped her hand in front of her mouth stiffening a sob as tears spilled from her blue eyes.


	10. P for Piglet, Pasta and Pathetic

_**Disclaimer:**_ Do not own Gilmore Girls.

**AN: So here it is...Chapter 10. I hope it's to your satisfaction :) Thank you for all the reviews! You rock my socks!**

**_Chapter 10 P for Piglet, Pasta and Pathetic. _**

"_Today's flu attack, Thanksgiving! And then just sleeping with someone. This is NOT YOU!" she exclaimed. _

"_I'm not a child anymore, mom."_

"_No." Lorelai took her bag from the table. "I guess you're not."_

_With that as her last words she left, slamming the door behind her. Rory clasped her hand in front of her mouth stiffening a sob as tears spilled from her blue eyes._

* * *

Rory was sitting on a barstool in the kitchen and was staring at Logan's stirring hand. 

"Ace, your eyes are starting to burn…"

"Huh? What?"

"Your staring… Did me stirring the sauce put you in some kind of hypnosis?"

She gave him a smile, but tears were brimming in her eyes.

Logan put down the spoon and approached her. He put his arms around her just as tears started dripping out of her sad blue eyes.

"Ace…" he sighed. "Once more.. and this makes it like the 5th time today. She doesn't hate you. Me at the utmost. But not you. Even if we overlook the fact that she is your mother… you are not the hating kind. You are completely and utterly lovable.. like…"

"…Piglet." Rory finished with a sniff. He had told her this numerous times. Yet she just couldn't shake off the angry and hurt look on her mothers face.

"Exactly" he smirked, "like Piglet."

"The spaghetti will overcook." She sniveled in his chest.

"Well, Martha… why don't you get up and save the spaghetti from doom." He offered and earned himself a pinch.

"The reprisals are painful again, that means you are feeling slightly better…"

Rory freed herself from his embrace and padded to the stove.

"Caref…" he warned turning around, but it was too late. Her hands clenched the handles and with a yelp she jumped back.

"It's hot…" Logan finished as he grabbed her, dragging her to the sink and holding her fingers under the cold water. She was crying again.

"Ace… come on, please… you'll get a headache from all the crying."

"She ha-a-a-tes mm-e," she sobbed.

"Piglet, Ace…. She doesn't hate you."

"Stop with the pig already!" she exclaimed brushing past him, angry, hurt and sad. She got her coat and slammed the door shut behind her.

It was too much. She had blown it with her mom and Logan being sweet to her… it didn't feel right. It made it only worse. She breathed in the freezing February air and looked at her fingers, red from the heat of the pan. How could she choose? Two persons she loved. Two persons important to her… Her mom was her role model, her Dalai Lama, her wisdom and her hero. A strong woman who managed to go from having everything to having nothing and to having everything she had dreamt of again. Yet Logan completed a part of her she didn't knew was in need of completion. He had challenged her and pushed her and she was drawn to his confidence and life spirit. He wasn't afraid of a confrontation and didn't beat around the bush. His honesty could be seen as offensive but she had found it refreshing. And now he had let her in it and she had seen the person, she had caught flashes of before. He was just human, with his fears and imperfections. He could be a serious, smart, quit bookish guy, On the other hand he was a dreamer. Something she wouldn't have looked for behind him and something she loved. In a way he was like her mother. Trying to make the best of the things (Hartford) life threw at him and seeking for his path in there.

* * *

Logan sighed, the door slam still echoing in his head. He contemplated whether to go after her or let her be and chose the latter. She knew where to find him. Hell, if there was one thing he knew, was that everything came in it's own time. So would she. 

He needed to pack for his trip the following day and threw the overcooked and sad pasta in the trash bin.

Hours later she still hadn't come back, nor had she called and he was starting to get worried. The urge to call HER was so big that he had to fight himself to not pick up the phone. He was sitting on the couch starring at it intensely, just laying there on the coffee table, mocking him.

"Come on ring!" he mumbled.

Great, was his next thought, I'm talking to a piece of plastic. What was that girl doing to him? He jumped up when the his phone started vibrating on the table, a blue light emphasizing the fact that it was calling him.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Logan."

His expression clouded. A 50 year old, media tycoon with too high a blood pressure and real bad character, was not what he was expecting.

"Dad,"

"I was making sure, you were going to get on that plane to Chicago tomorrow morning."

Logan sighed, rubbing his temples.

"I am. Anything else?"

"Yes, leave your hostility at home and don't you dare being late." He grunted, before a dial tone filled his ear.

With a click that seemed to bounce of the walls, Logan shut the phone an got up. It was closing to midnight and if he wanted to get some sleep at all he better went to bed. Yeah right, he thought with a sigh, for a moment cursing his girlfriend, as if he could fall asleep.

* * *

"You are pathetic with a capital P." Rory said out loud to herself laying in her bed in her cold and empty apartment. 

It seemed as if she couldn't be alone anymore, now Paris had moved out. She wanted to go to Logan's place and crawl in his bed. But she couldn't just do that after the way she had left. And in only a few hours he would be on a plane to Chicago and she wouldn't see him for 4 whole days.

"Ah!" she sat up in bed. _Great Gilmore now you are going to wake him up. Storming out was not enough…NOOOOH… miss Gilmore has to barge in again and deprive him of his sleep. _She pulled on her coat and shoes and hurried to his apartment. God, she hated, walking alone at night.

"Good evening, miss Gilmore." Eddy greeted at the door. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes…" She tried to figure out why the man was looking at her funny. And then it hit her. She was wearing pink Snoopy pajama's underneath her coat.

She blushed.

"Ehm… I couldn't sleep?"

Eddie laughed. The warm, kind laugh, that she always had thought Santa would have.

"Well… I don't see why you couldn't just go up, miss."

"Rory."

"Rory." He smiled.

"Thank you, Eddie. Have a good night."

"You too, Rory, you too."

She entered the elevator and pressed 4. It slowly started moving up and she realized how often she came here. Since that… she knew now… faithful night in January. About a month had passed. A month that had brought their relationship to a new level. The elevator pinged, letting know that it had arrived at the floor of choice. She stepped out in to the dim lit hallway and knocked on the door. She knew the key was behind the loose brick, behind the plant, but it didn't feel right to let herself in. Not after the way she had left.

* * *

A persistent knock on the door woke Logan from his catnap. Great, he thought, finally he had gotten in some kind of sleep and now he was wide awake again. He opened the door and found a blown about Rory on the other side. Before he could do or say something she wrapped her freezing hands around his bare waist, causing him to hiss. 

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I'm really really sorry. You didn't deserve that."

He escaped her icy embrace and took a step back. She looked at him with her big blue eyes.

"I'm not mad, Ror. It's just you are…" he shivered seizing her up. "Did you come here by foot?"

She nodded.

"And it was scary. I mean I thought some lunatic was lurking behind every corner."

He let out a laugh.

"I don't think any lunatic would have harassed you. First of all your shoes don't mach. Then you are wearing a red coat over pink Snoopy pajama's and your hair…. Frankly you look a lot like a lunatic yourself."

She looked at her feet. One in a tennis shoe the other in an old pink sneaker, giving him a sourish smile.

"And you are freezing. You'll get sick. Come here." He pulled her inside.

Peeling her coat off of her and drawing her to the bathroom, letting the shower run till it was steaming. Rory just let him undress her and stood motionless while he pulled down his pajama pants and tugged her in to the green tiled walk-in shower and under the hot spurt of water.

"Hot," she uttered when the water hit her skin.

"Good," he smirked, turning her palms around, checking for burn wounds.

"It wasn't bad," she said, leaning against his chest and shutting her eyes when his arms drew her closer.

"You know what I'm afraid of?" she asked.

"That she hates you?"

"No… yes.. but it's more that I'll have to make a choice… between you and her."

"Ace… that is absurd. She has no ground for hating me…."

"The 5 months of casual sex."

"Yeah… except that… But seriously. You don't have to chose. Not between me and her. On the other hand you do have A choice."

Rory turned around facing him.

"You can leave this the way it is and wait it out…maybe she'll approach you, maybe she won't… Or… you can take the initiative. Go talk to her. Explain her why… I'm curious about that too by the way."

"Well… I don't think any mother would like her daughter having casual sex."

"Ace… you know better than that."

"Better than what?"

"Than selling me that crap. We both know your mother is different. She wouldn't like me maybe but… she wouldn't lash out at you if you would be straight forward with her from the start."

Rory opened her mouth to defense herself but closed it again.

"It's ok," he smiled kissing her hair. "You don't have to tell me."

"Do you think I'm a needy, pushy girlfriend?" she then asked him.

"Excuse me? Where did that come from?"

"Well if you think about it… New York… now my mom… I'm like a total.. "

"Nutcase." Logan finished. "Needy, pushy girlfriend…huh… the things your head comes up with… seriously."

"So you don't think that?"

"Ace, we all have our bad days."

"Yeah…" she sighed. "It's just… ridiculous. You lost your mom, your step mom is horrible and your dad is constantly breathing down your neck. And here come I with my…" she used air quotes." Issues."

"Yes… you are a pain in the ass and the straw that broke the camels back. You horrible horrible human being…" Logan sighed.

"Poor camel…" Rory chuckled.

"Poor me…"

* * *

Rory watched Logan sleep for a while. He had dosed off as soon as his body had hit the soft sheets. She was going to talk to her mother in the morning. Logan was right. She shouldn't be crying about something she had caused herself until she had exhausted every option of making it right. 

"Thank you." She whispered, kissing her fingers and lightly brushing them over his lips.

In response the arm he had casually draped over her waist tightened. Rory smiled and closed her eyes.

* * *

"Logan?" she called, sleep evident in her voice.

"Shh… go back to sleep." He answered fixing his tie.

"What time is it?" she yawned.

"6."

"Do you have to go?"

"Yes, my needy, pushy girlfriend, I do." He smiled, scooting down next to the bed and kissing her cheek, "Lock the door on your way out?"

"Are you kicking me out?"

"Nooooo…. I'm just saying: lock the door when you leave. I mean I don't want to find a bear in my fridge or some squatter."

"You live in a building with a doorman…"

"Bears can be sneaky, squatters too…" With a last peck, he got up and put on his coat.

"Bye…" she called.

"Bye, I l…ll call you." He swallowed. What was that? He nearly hit the closed door. Jesus, Huntzberger, get a grip. Writing it off to the hour and the amount of sleep he got in the elevator and pressed 'G'.

**AN: Here it was...:) Next chapter... Rory's attempt to smooth things out with Lorelai. And ooooh Valentines Day is coming up ;) I hope you liked it. Please leave a review. :)**


	11. The bend in the road is not the end

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Gilmore Girls...

**AN: I know! I'm horrible! I've neglected you badly! And I feel terrible... School kind of didn't leave time for much else...and then when I had time..the words just didn't come... I wrote this chapter...then re-wrote it... But here it is... finaly! I wanted to thank you all for your wonderful reviews...they keep me going...really :) I hope you like this chapter...especially because it took me a while to get it on paper (so to speak)... Well without further due (I've kept you waiting way too long already)... Chapter 11. :) Read and review!**

**_Chapter 11: The bend in the road is not the end_**

Rory took a deep breath. She was standing in the driveway of the Dragonfly Inn. Her heart was pounding. Would she dare to go in and confront her? Her fingers were clenching around her car keys. She exhaled and ordered her feet to move. It was Michel who was reorganizing the post its on the front desk.

"Hey Michel," she greeted with a weak smile.

"Oh hellow," he greeted with a heavy French accent. "Eef eet eesn't the spawn of Satán…"

His cynicism made her relax a bit. Good ol' Michel.

"So how have you been?" she asked fidgeting with her bag.

"Don't you see that I'm beezy, child?! Now stop botthereen mee and go awayyy." he shooed her away with a flawlessly manicured hand.

"I'm looking for mom." She said softly.

"And whuat am I?! Your secretaryyy?" he snorted, "I don't theenk sooo…"

"Michel," Rory sighed rolling her eyes.

"Are you stuupeeed?! I said No! Go look for hur your lonesome selfe! What doo you theenk?" he then asked, giddy like a five year old "Peenk for confeermations, yellow for cancellations and blue for 'yet to confeerm' oooor yellow for confirmations, peenk for 'yet to confeerm', and blue for cancellations?"

Rory furrowed her eyebrows: "I think blue for cancellations, pink for confirmations and yellow for 'not yet confirmed'."

Michel glared at her from across his desk.

"Ceetee girl… No style, no notheeng."

"That's not nice." she snickered. "I'm going to look for mom. Bye"

"Bye…" he said in a tired tone and then added. "I theenk she ees een the keetchen."

"Thank you, Michel!" she laughed walking past the main staircase. It was impossible not to love Michel. She turned to enter the kitchen and stopped. All the gathered courage flowed out of her and scurried away in to opposite directions like a pack of hunted squirrels.

"M-mom…" she stuttered. Lorelai's initial surprise got soon replaced by hurt, masked in anger. Her mouth was a straight line, her eyes cold.

She didn't say anything just crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I wanted to explain…" she meekly continued, looking at the floor. That woman sure as hell could be intimidating at times. Lorelai raised her eyebrows.

"And apologize."

"You don't need to do either of those. You are after all grown up and you don't need me so why should you apologize?" Her mothers words stung bad, yet she swallowed her tears.

"I should have been honest from the start, but… I was scared….and…"

"And here I thought you were so grown up. You don't just live in your own head, Rory!

The population is not one! Your actions affect other people!"

"I know…" she replied as her eyes filled with tears. "And I want to explain myself. I know that won't change anything, but you … I owe you that much."

"I frankly don't want to see you right now. Nor talk to you. You hurt me! And truthfully you disappointed me. Have the decency to let it sink."

Rory wiped away her cheeks, suddenly full of new élan. Her eyes locked on her mothers.

"Well that's too bad, because I'm not leaving till you let me explain. And since I disappointed you I have no decency… this wont hurt it more."

Lorelai was speechless. She had wanted to sting her back, the way she had stung her… but the girl – young woman- standing in front of her wouldn't have it. Her blue eyes were not only filled with tears, but with sheer determination. This was not the confrontation shy Rory, her sweet sheltered daughter. This was…She sighed. She didn't know who it was anymore and that made her sad. She had questioned herself all the way home from Yale that faithful day, all night in bed…crying… Had she done something wrong? Provoked such behavior or simply been blind?

She passed her, then stopped and turned around.

"Coffee?" she asked.

Rory let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and followed her mother in to the lounge.

* * *

"So the prospects for the next 5 years are pretty good IF and I add IF we cut on the expenses…" 

Logan was leaning back in a leather chair, 30 stories high, in a conference room in Chicago. His mind was anywhere but Chicago though. He watched the snowflakes lazily fall out of the grey sky and couldn't help but wonder what had come over him that morning. He had almost said something, that hadn't even crossed his mind until now.

Did he love her? He felt stupid for even having to think about it, but it was not like had to compare it to anything. Was it love he was feeling? It irritated him when he noticed that she had shaven her legs with his razor (yet again), when she stole his bathrobe (for the millionth time) and look better in it than he ever could, when she alphabetized his dvd collection ( it was his mess and should remain strictly his mess). When she was in his apartment, she was everywhere. He could still smell her perfume after days. Everything was the same, yet slightly different and he didn't know whether he liked it or was annoyed by it. But on the other hand he wanted to guard her and protect her. He hated seeing her sad. Sometimes he spent half the night watching her. Just watching her sleep. Inhale and exhale. And his own breathing would adapt to hers… Breathing in and out at the same time she did. He missed her when she wasn't in his bed when he woke up, or went to sleep. It was even strange when her toothbrush wasn't in the same cup as his. Without her the apartment seemed quiet and too big. Was it love? Or just an addiction?

* * *

Lorelai crossed her arms in front of her chest and steered her gaze to her daughter, who was facing her from the opposite chair, timid and unwavering at the same time. 

"I met him last year." She started." He was an arrogant, self-involved, infuriating brat, born into a golden crib. He didn't have to work for anything, nor did he appreciate anything. I hated him. He represented everything you hated about Hartford. For a while it remained that way…him goading me… me ignoring him," she smirked involuntarily, "as far as it is possible to ignore Logan Huntzberger. And then I started doing research for this article on the Life and Death Brigade." Lorelai raised her eyebrows.

"Don't even ask…What I found led straight to him. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry out of misery. I asked for his help and against all odds he said yes." Rory looked at her mother, trying to gauge her mood, but she was plainly staring back at her. She took it as a silent sign to continue.

"He brought me to this outrageous event. It was unlike anything I had ever seen and just when I thought that it couldn't get anymore crazy he persuaded me to jump of a 7 storied scaffolding with him. "It'll be fun, it'll be a thrill," he had said, "Something stupid, something bad for you. Just something different. Isn't this the point of being young? It's your choice, Ace. People can live a hundred years without really living for a minute. You climb up here with me, it's one less minute you haven't lived" He got me wondering … was I too sheltered, too serious?"

* * *

"You jump, I jump, Jack." She had said, clasping her hand in his, standing high above the ground, the wind playing with the blue of her dress and then they had jumped. When they had touched the ground, just seconds later, adrenaline was rushing, the crowd was cheering and she had his hand still firmly in her grip, pressed against her chest, that was raising and falling heavily. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes vivid. She had taken a chance… He smirked at the memory… a minute less lived. Was he a hypocrite? Telling her that she needed to take a chance, risk a little and now not daring himself? He was risking his heart here, she had risked her health in the worst case. Not true… He fixated his stare on a drop of melted snow on the window and followed it's path down. She had risked her believes. She had risked her life as she had known it. _In omnia paratus…_ He sighed. _Aut vincere aut mori_ (**AN**: Either conquer or die)…

* * *

"And I did. I literally took the plunge. It felt amazing… It was as if the foundation of my being had been shaken to it's core. And in a way he was a part of it. I don't know whether it was because of his words or that he didn't let go of my hand, but he was a part of it…of me, or was I a part of him of the moment. It still confuses me. After that there was this connection between us. This feeling of mutual understanding. When he would look at me it felt as if we had a secret that was only known to us. I couldn't hate him anymore. I'm not sure if I ever did. I simply didn't understand him. It took me a long while to really do that. The mystery about him, it was as if he was hiding and not coming out, except if it was to play. His remarks, his attitude were all a play for him and I desperately wanted to know the rules, see what was behind him… And one day he came to my dorm…and… we…" She paused contemplating how to bring that. 

"Had sex." Lorelai finished and caused her daughter to alter 5 shades of red, before nodding slightly.

"The next morning I was in heaven and he was sorry, going on and on about caring about me and not wanting to hurt me. I put my foot down. And he warned me… he warned me. And I wouldn't have it. I wanted him. A part of him. Whatever I could get, because he made me feel…like I was standing at the brink of that scaffolding. And it was new for me…chasing after a guy. Dean put me on a pedestal and Jess wasn't sure how to deal with me, so he walked on his toes for a while before bolting. Logan simply saw me. And it felt so good to be seen…really seen. When he is with me…I feel special."

She took a deep breath, a lump forming in her throat.

"So we kept seeing each other for about 5 months like that. Occasional dinners, movies, nights spent together… Then one day he asked me to this benefit. And at that time I was ready to break it off, because well, I fell in love him and it frustrated me that he was so introvert… I only could see the surface of him and the other girls..." she sighed. It had been only a week. It seemed years ago. "In New York it came to a burst."

She mulled whether to tell Lorelai about his mother and decided against it. It was not relevant at this point.

"What he had warned me about happened. I freaked out. He didn't understand why at first so I practically screamed that I loved him. It's a little blurry… but he held me and things were said… and he agreed to commit to me. The week following that it was like getting to know him all over again. I still am…And he is just human. It felt good to know that he has his insecurities and fears…You know the rest," she sighed.

Lorelai wanted to gather her in her arms, wanted to hold her. Her girl had been through so much, but what she couldn't grasp was: Why? Why hadn't she told her? They always shared everything. She felt shut out…and angry.

"Why, Rory? You telling me this story, all nice and charming. A regular fairy tale, but why didn't you tell me?! 5 months! You lied to me for 5 months…"

* * *

"Logan…. Logan…. LOGAN!" 

Logan's head shot up and his fathers booming voice echoed in his ears.

"Yes?"

"Are you brain dead?" Mitchum asked.

"Not that I recall.." He was still a little frazzled from his long pause of contemplating.

"Then stop staring out of that window like a damn invalid and pay attention…"

Logan took a deep breath and steered his eyes to the syllabus in front of his nose. Charts, data… He knew it all inside out and it didn't do anything. He simply didn't care. The irony was, that he was good at it. If he put his mind to it, he could be great. But he didn't WANT to put his mind to it. He wanted… what DID he want? He had no clue, but not this, not now. Only the thought of sitting in some glass prison tower made him sick. Graduation was creeping up to him and it felt as if hands were slowly clenching around his throat…tighter and tighter… Was this how a burn out felt? Burn-out… He hadn't even started, or maybe he had way too early. He could remember so well… Him 6, maybe 7, sitting on his fathers desk, stapling something… It had felt wonderful back then, being around him, watching him. He had felt pride. THAT IS MY DAD, radiating from his face. Long lost times… Times he missed on one hand and wished that they had never happened on the other…Now it was only cause for melancholia.

"LOGAN!!! MY GOD are you high on something?!"

* * *

"I just didn't want you to be disappointed in me. I didn't want to let you down…" Rory cried. It was to no avail to stop. Once the first tear had fought it's way down the rest followed uncontrollably. 

"Let me down???" Lorelai asked incredulously.

"Yes. Logan is everything you ran away from, everything you despise and then your perfect daughter was casually sleeping around. You would have been so disheartened. And you are! I mean..."

"Rory, I never…"

"And the more time went by, the harder it became. I just couldn't face you."

A lone tear made it's way down Lorelai's face. Disappointment was not something she was feeling. It was mostly hurt. But disappointment. Never. The love for the younger Gilmore Girl was unconditional.

"Hon, you could never disappoint me! Never! You could swear off coffee! Eat green stuff! Tattoo "I love Mom" on your butt! Join the Hells Angels….I would never ever be disappointed in you. I love you…Always always… it's the fact that you didn't tell me that disappointed me … not you. And the way I feel about Hartford… I never meant to indoctrinate you with my hate of the elite. And I don't hate them. It's just I needed that cynicism to survive."

"Well you didn't… Indoctrinate me. And if you did, you did a bad job at that… I don't think you would fit the profile for a SD-6 agent."

Lorelai smirked.

"I'm so so so so so so so so so incredibly sorry, mom." Rory cried launching herself into her mothers embrace.

"Me too, kid, me too.." she whispered in her daughters hair. It was going to be ok. Rory cried out of relieve and out of sorrow, out of happiness and simply just because she felt like it. It was going to be ok…

* * *

"Would you for once in your lifetime stop embarrassing me?!" Mitchum hissed, "What is wrong with you?" 

"There is nothing wrong…" Logan sighed, stirring his coffee.

"At least ACT like you want to be here."

"Well I **don't **want to be here!"

"Grow up! Really… Grow up! It's getting old those teenage tantrums you keep throwing. Grow up! Stop being such a goddamn disappointment!" Logan shook his head in disbelieve.

"I never said I wanted to be here. I never said I wanted to do anything with this at all. You want me to be here? I'm here! You want me read the goddamn prospect? I have! You want me to like it?"

"You are a Huntzberger! It's in your blood! YES, I want you to like it!" the man rumbled.

"Well TOO BAD! You can get me to do a lot of things, but I decide for myself whether I like it or not!" _Whether I like you, or not! _"Which I don't. So up yours really." He sipped from his coffee.

"Sir, are you ready to proceed?" the secretary asked. Logan threw his father a look.

"Yes, the sooner we start this charade, the sooner we finish and the sooner I can get out of this hellhole." He then said and left his father in the lounge. He felt like colliding a fist with a wall and clenched his fists till his knuckles were white. The slight vibration in his pocket made him loosen his hands. He pulled his phone out and flipped it open. Ace…

_Mom and me… I think we are ok. :) I don't know what to do with myself I'm so happy… How is Chicago? xxx Needy pushy girlfriend._

He chuckled and let himself down in the leather chair again.

* * *

_Well there you go. I'm happy for you, needy pushy girlfriend. I hate it here… It's worse than the 9th circle of hell… Did you lock the door? L. _

Rory snickered upon reading Logan's response to her text and couldn't help but feel bad for him. She put the DVD in the player and hopped on the couch, tucking her feet under her body and started texting him back.

"I have….wine gums, marshmallows, pop corn…sweet and sour. I have chocolate, cookie dough, Skittles… taste the rainbow, baby. I have chips and well the usual really." Lorelai exclaimed dumping massive amounts of food on the coffee table and plopping down on the couch next to Rory.

"Logan?" she asked. It was going to take some time, getting used to Rory seeing that boy.

"Yeah…" Rory smiled. "He is in Chicago or according to him the ninth circle of hell."

Lorelai gave a little smile.

"So you love him…" Rory nodded. Still slightly uncomfortable.

"Does he love you?"

"Sometimes I get the feeling he does and then there are moments when I'm not sure. He has never voiced it, but then again, he's not really the touchy feely kind of guy."

Lorelai took a deep breath.

"I would like to meet him…some day. In the 5th circle of hell… or the 4th, either is fine really."

"You would." Rory deadpanned.

"Yeah… I have to meet the guy that you claim to love."

"Ok…" A handful of wine gums disappeared in her mouth. It felt strange. It was going to take some time getting used to her mom knowing Logan.

Lorelai pressed 'PLAY' and the title song of Gone with the Wind filled the living room.

_Poor you. I think the friendly squatters are grilling mice in your fireplace. Needy pushy girlfriend signing off… Gone with the Wind time. _Her eyes flew over the lines and she pressed SEND, focusing her full attention on Scarlett O'Hara once more.

* * *

Logan was beat. Chicago wasn't big enough to house Mitchum Huntzberger. 4 days, 3 nights, 2 flights and one Mitchum Huntzberger later all he wanted to do was crawl in bed and sleep for a century. But going back to an empty apartment just didn't seem appealing after all. It was closing to 2 am and he contemplated whether knocking on Rory's door would inflict bodily harm. He decided to take his chances and strolled to Branford, breathing in the cool February air and letting his annoyance defrost a little. He knocked sturdily and waited. When no answer came, he knocked again. 

A faint shuffling could be heard on the other end, some fidgeting at the door and then the door opened revealing a barely awake Rory. Her cheeks were pink with sleep, like those of a baby. Her hair resembled Chernobyl and she was wearing the disastrous bright orange flannel pajamas with singing penguins on it. He smiled.

"Hey…" he said.

"Hey…" she yawned.

"The squatters are occupying my bed."

She snickered and opened the door further to let him in. He took of his coat, carelessly draping it over the couch and kicked of his shoes, before wrapping his arms around her orange manifestation, pulling her close and burying his nose in her hair, inhaling her scent.

"Are you sniffing me?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"And what if I am? I don't want to hear any comments from you, Booksniffer."

"Hey! I provide your bed for tonight…be nice." She pouted, sneakily taking in his scent as well.

"I missed you, Ace…"

"Yeah… I would miss me too."

"All the drama is gone, so now miss. Perky has her wit back." He pinched her side, she let out a displeased grunt.

"Fine…" she rolled her eyes, "If we are on the cheesy tour… I missed you too." Logan snickered giving her a brief kiss.

"You look drained," she observed taking in the dark circles under his eyes and the absence of the vivid spark in them.

"I feel drained." In silence she pulled the blazer of his shoulders.

"Crawl back in bed…" he said, "I can undress myself."

"Don't fall asleep standing there." she said walking back to her bedroom and crawling under the covers.

Logan finished undressing leaving his clothes scattered on the living room floor. Rory felt the bed shift when he lied down and tried to find a comfortable position on the twin sized bed. When he didn't stop squirming and twisting Rory sighed and pulled him in her arms.

"You need a bigger bed…" he stated.

"No I don't" she sighed running her fingers through his hair. "Sleep…"

"Yes you…do…" he protested his voice getting distant.

"No I don't. This bed is just fine…" She smirked, still stroking his soft hair.

"No….It's not….It's…too…." he couldn't find the strength to finish the sentence. All of his remaining brain activity was focused on the warm bed and Rory's gentle hands, as that too became blurry and he drifted into a deep dreamless sleep.

**TBC...**


	12. Revelations

**Disclaimer: **Do not own Gilmore Girls.

**AN: The holidayseason is always a busy one for me, so I wanted to update, but didn't really find the time. First of all, I want to say happy 2007 to all of you!!! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and didn't suffer from the bubbly on New Years Eve lol. :) My midterms start next week (I know scandalous!!! Just after winterbreak : ), so I'll have to dive in my books for a while... but I'll do my best to update Lorelai's visit as soon as I can :):) Cheers! And as always: Thank you for your great reviews! **

**_Chapter 12. Revelations_**

Rory opened the door of her dorm balancing her books, grocery bag and 2 coffee's in her arms. Everything was still as she had left it numerous hours ago… His clothes were still scattered on the living room floor, the note she had left on the table seemed untouched. He couldn't still be in bed, could he? She peaked in her bedroom and shook her head upon seeing him in her bed, apparently still dead to the world. She hung up her coat, picked up his clothes and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Logan?" she whispered in his ear.

"Mmmm…"

"Logan, are you still breathing?"

"Mhm." She chuckled laying down behind him and propped herself up with her elbow. He twitched with a grunt when she started playing with the hair in his nape.

"Logan...It's 4 p.m." she coaxed.

"Ace…" he whined.

"No. Open your eyes." He rolled on his back and opened his beautiful eyes with a sigh.

His disheveled unshaven and barely awake appearance made her heart jump and she pressed her lips on his, causing him to chuckle.

That's better he thought, running his fingers through her silky hair. The best medicine for a mental breakdown after spending 4 days with Mitchum Huntzberger. Rory sighed happily resting her head on his chest. His fingers traced her eyebrow and cheek, finally coming to rest under her chin, compelling her to look at him.

"Hey you…" he said.

"Hey…I have breakfast or lunch or maybe…an early dinner?"

"You rock my socks. New sweater?" He asked fingering the dark blue cashmere, a small smile playing on his lips. Rory put on her bambi eyes, a light pink creeping up her cheeks.

"Let me guess. You got it from… Huntzberger & Clo."

She laughed.

"You mean co?"

"Noooo, I mean clo. As in closet. Woman, what am I going to do with you? You are everywhere."

She blushed.

"Sorry, I should have asked." She tried to get up, but his arms were heavily weighing her down.

"You look very very sexy in it. As you do in all my clothes. Hmm… maybe I should try on yours."

"If you fit in my pants I'm going to kill myself." She chuckled.

"Who said anything about pants? I'm more a skirt kind of guy…"

"You do have the legs…"

"Why thank you."

She ran her fingers over his leg. "You'd have to shave though. The yeti look is so 2005."

"Rose' birthday is next month." He suddenly changed the subject.

"It is?"

He nodded.

"Care to join me?"

"To Round Hill?"

"Yup."

She was startled at first, but then an immense happiness floated into her. Not only had she fallen in love with the whole scenery there, but also with Rose and Frank and even more with Logan if that was possible.

"I..I would love to!"

"Well good." He smiled. "All settled then." They lay in silence for a while. Logan twisting a strand of her hair between his fingers, Rory fingering the hem of her sheets, her head resting on his chest.

"Logan?" she started and he hummed in response.

"Mom wants to meet you… So I said we would have dinner with her… tomorrow."

She could have sworn his heart missed a beat under her ear.

"What?!"

"Mom…she is coming here tomorrow and I kind of said you would be dining with us?"

"But!" he tried to form a sentence to no avail.

"Logan, you are not afraid of my mother." She rolled her eyes.

"YES I AM!" he called out.

* * *

Rory crossed her arms in front of her chest. Logan was draped over her couch like an old blanket. Unbuttoned shirt, unfastened belt, no socks and overabundant facial hair, a cup of coffee balancing on his chest, his eyes fixed on the TV. 

"Logan…" No reaction. "Logan, you can't keep ignoring me! I said I was sorry! I should have asked you first. Now I can call her and tell her that my boyfriend is too big of a woos to face her, OR you'll suck it up and meet my mom, who is NOT hating you by the way! Boy I liked you better when you had balls." She mumbled the last.

Logan blinked a few times, slowly set down his coffee and continued to stare at her. His girlfriend had just called him a ball-less woos. It wasn't as much the insult that had him completely staggered, it was that it was from Rory's lips. Rory, who even had trouble saying ass… Rory who made it a mission to save every spider in the proximity. A mission involving several utensils (to not hurt their legs, she had told him). His sweet innocent Rory. Here and now he burst out in laughter. Rory raised an eyebrow, it really wasn't that funny.

"I'm insulted, Ace, really…" he whipped his eyes.

With a roll of her azure eyes she picked up a pillow and swung it at his head. She hit him once, twice… as if something had possessed her. Still laughing he got a hold of the pillow and tried to wrestle it out of her hands. Her eyes held almost a wild sparkle in them, her face was flushed when he pulled her, pillow and all, against him. He ignored the pain when her elbow hit him in the head unintended and jerked the pillow out of her hands tipping them and the couch over and landing on the floor with a thud.

Rory's out of breath laughter was muffled by his shoulder and he chuckled.

"So what restaurant?" he asked.

"Pepé's?" Rory suggested.

Logan made a face.

"Adriana's is better."

"No, I like the pasta better at Pepé's" She protested.

"The pizza's and lasagna are better at Adriana's"

"Fine Bankok Gardens then?"

"Not really in the mood for Chinese."

"The Rainbow Café?" Logan raised an eyebrow.

"Do you want a hippie in bell-bottom pants and a flower power vest to serve dishes like 'peace-loaf' to your mother?"

"I think she would en…"

"Ace, although I can appreciate the occasional Beatnik, I don't want to listen to Ginsberg all night," he cut her off and she sighed.

"Fine… what DO you want?"

"Union League?"

"Too preppy. Mom is not the regular 'pop collar polo, tennis skirt, ribbon, pearls, overabundant hair products, Nantucket Country club' kind of girl."

"Is that how you see me?" Logan asked eyebrows raised but eyes laughing.

"Tennis skirt, pearls and overabundant hair products?" She pretended to think about it and got a pinch.

"You know it's a common misconception that preppies are snobs or inapproachable. They are not as rich as people may think they are," he reasoned.

"Are you complaining about your financial resources?" She looked at him. They were still laying half on the floor half on the tipped over couch. Rory on top of him.

"No, it's just…"

She let out a laugh.

"Logan… I think you can be very preppy. All the pearls aside. But I don't view you differently because of it. Because I know you are not a snob. Deep deep **deep** down." She smirked.

"You are mean today." He pouted.

"We still don't have a restaurant. There must be a place in New Haven where they… **Dempsey's**!!" she suddenly exclaimed.

"Well that's the finest establishment ever established for eating…" Logan started.

"All settled then."

"…if it wasn't closed."

"It's closed?" Rory glowered.

"Yeah, till march."

"Well that stinks. How do we survive here? No food…"

"We order in or cook…"

She gave him smile, one that couldn't mean much good.

"Aaaaace, no…" he whined.

"What? Come on you can make a great lasagna and I would help you. I could make the salad. Chop the tomatoes and..."

"Wow there, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with you handling sharp objects."

"Thy, nonbeliever! I can handle a knife quit gracefully, thank you very much."

"That's what I'm afraid of…" He chuckled.

"So…"

He kissed the tip of her nose and smirked.

"My place?"

"Ooooh I love you!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and showering his face with kisses, "I'm going to the store! You shave!" she scrambled to get up, a knee hitting Logan in a not too strategic place.

"Ow, Ace! You are all but gentle you know that?!"

"And clean up the mess you made!!" She yelled before the door slammed shut. Logan sighed with a chuckle while getting up and repositioned the blue couch in it's dignified pose.

* * *

"_Logan! Are you there! Pickup the phone!"_ his sisters voice made him cringe. The answering machine was shaking in fear, he was certain of it. 

"_That bitch doesn't have ANY right to dictate my life!!!! I hate her! And I hate that stupid school! And I hate dad! He doesn't do anything about that gold digging low life wh…"_

"Okaysies! I get the point!" he cut her off after he had snatched the phone.

"_So you are there! Were you there all the time?"_

"I just got home. Now would you stop scaring Satan and talk to me… at about 40 dB instead of 160. I'm not deaf…yet."

"_I hate it here at Georgetown. Those girls are so…argh! Blegh! I want to go back to Deerfield! And when I'm home on weekends she is just SO there! Parading around and dragging me to the club and she actually wants me to call her MOM! Are you throwing up already?"_

"I'm getting there…"

"_And she tried to pay off Conner! So he stops seeing me and and he broke up with me! And can you blame him?! I can't!"_

The rage suddenly altered in sadness and he could hear her upset sobs. Logan sighed. This was not the first time, she had called him in this stage. And he was willing to bet his allowance on it, that it wasn't the last.

"It's not fair." She blubbered.

"I know…"

"_You don't know! You are never here anymore!"_ she yelled.

"Lena," he rubbed his eyes.

"_No, don't Lena me! When was the last time you were home?"_

"I was busy."

"_You always are…like dad."_

"Now you listen to me," his tone dropped, "You are not the only one. I hate that woman too…and I don't know if you noticed, but dad and me, not exactly getting along. I don't want to be in that house longer than absolutely necessary and damn you if you blame me for it. But I do. I come home for you! And the fact that it's been almost 2 moths since I last was there, is because I was busy. The universe does not exist out of solely you!"

It was silent on the other end for a while.

"_I just miss you,"_ she then softly said, _"and I cant deal with this all by myself. I so need a break. Will you come this weekend?"_

It hurt him to turn her down. He heaved a deep sigh.

"_You're not…"_ his younger sister concluded.

"I'm sorry…"

"_Well, can I come to New Haven? Stay with you?"_ she asked in a small voice.

"Lena, you have school, I have school and R…" It hit him that he hadn't told her about Rory. Now he really felt guilty. Desperately he tried to remember the last time they had talked.

"and Rory's mother is coming here tomorrow," he finished hesitantly.

"_Who is Rory?"_

"My girlfriend," he almost mumbled.

"_The line is bad. Did you just say **girlfriend**?"_

"I did."

"_How?! When?! Who?! Why?!"_ Logan chuckled. That was Lena again.

"I really feel bad for not telling you, sis."

"_I would kick you if you were here!"_

"I'm sorry… it slipped my mind."

"_If playboys had a spiritual leader it would be you!!!! How does something like that slip your mind?!"_

"The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma." He heard the door open and close.

"Hey, are you here?" Rory called.

"Living room!" he yelled

"_Rory?"_ Lena asked.

"Yes. I'll try to come next weekend, okay?"

"_Aw, Logan, please?"_

"No, Lena. I have no time to come pick you up, I have plans…"

"_I'm giving you the bambi-eyes."_

"Your bambi-eyes have some serious competition." He smiled when Rory entered the room and hopped on the couch next to him sticking her cold red nose in his neck.

"Bye, Lena."

She sighed. _"Bye, Logan."_

He threw the phone on the coffee table and turned to Rory, catching her icy lips with his.

"Your sister?" she whispered.

He hummed.

"I want to meet her…"

"You will…" he answered, gently biting on her bottom lip.

"When?"

She straddled him, her hands caressing his face.

"Someday…" His warm hands traveled under his sweater and made contact with the smooth skin of her back, coaxing her to arch it.

"Are you planning on shaving? This millennium?" she asked, her eyes half closed, a smile playing on her lips.

"Don't you think it's masculine?" he snickered.

"Not if I can braid it."

"Rory?" His face inched closer to hers.

"Mhm…"

"Shut up..." he smirked, before attacking her lips. He hoisted them up loosing his balance for a moment and knocking over the lamp.

"I can walk, you know…" She smiled kissing his neck.

"Well, my fair maiden, you are lucky to have a strong boyfriend as myself, so you can be carried around."

"Strong huh?" she teased.

"Well I can lift your butt, can't I know?"

"Was my butt just insulted?" she gasped.

"I wouldn't dare!" he laughed, kicking the door of his bedroom shut.

* * *

"Aw come on! Let me chop something," Rory bounced grabbing a knife. 

"Ace! Remove hands from knife."

"But…"

"REMOVE hands from knife." He laughed.

"Party pooper…you don't let me do anything." She pouted hopping on the counter.

"Wash the lettuce."

"Wash the lettuce?" She made a face. "That's for babies."

"And that comment makes you how old?" he smirked.

That smirk soon disappeared, and he threw the knife on the floor with a curse, trying to get a hold of a tea towel, while clenching his hand.

Rory got off the counter and picked up the knife, putting it in the sink.

"Let me see," she said softly.

"It's fine." Logan growled.

"I can see that," she took his hand and removed the towel.

A red gash across his palm had colored the white towel in a bright red. The blood now dripping from his fingers on the kitchen floor made her cringe. She hauled him to the bathroom, sitting him down on the edge of the tub and started searching the cabinets till she found gauze and disinfectant. In silence she cleaned the wound and wrapped his hand in the gauze. All the while Logan was looking at her.

And it was then that he knew it for certain. He loved her. There was no doubt, no hesitation, no ambiguity. It was as much there as the air he was breathing, as rhythmic as his heartbeat. She looked at him after fastening the hem of the bandage and smiled, still holding his hand in hers.

"There…" With his free hand he cupped her cheek, brushing an astray eyelash away and was about to say the words, he knew she wanted to hear, when the intercom zoomed.

He kept staring at her, till she pulled him back to reality.

"Shouldn't you get that?" she smiled.

He groaned getting up.

"It's probably Finn…Lost his keys or pants or.. mind.." he mumbled, pushing the button of the intercom.

"Yes?"

_"Mister Huntzberger?"_ Eddie's voice filled his ear.

"Logan, Eddie."

_"Logan… your sister is here."_

_Not funny, Finn, _he thought.

"Is she ugly and Australian?"

_"Excuse me, sir?"_

"Could you put her on, please?"

_"Of course…"_

_"Hey big brother! Surprise!!!!"_

He was flabbergasted for a moment.

"Lena?!"

**TBC…**


	13. Apocalyps Now

**Disclaimer:** Do not own Gilmore Girls.

**AN: I'm finally finished with my exams so i have time to sleep and breath again and of course to write :) So there it is a jampacked and chaotic chapter. haha. But as the title inclines...it's supposed to be. :) I hope you like it! Read & Review! And I really want to thank all of you and especially those i could't reply, for your reviews! You guys are amazing and keep me motivated! Thank you!!!**

**Chapter 13**. _Apocalyps now._

"Lena – Rory; Rory – Lena…" Logan recited as if it was the alphabet.

Rory smiled at the girl standing in front of her, an overnight bag in her hands. She had the same eyes as Logan, dark and warm, a bit playful, the same blond locks falling down her heart shaped face. She wasn't tall, nor did she have a very feminine figure, but she radiated, the same way Logan did. Boys were probably surrounding her like a swarm of bees would do with a pot of honey.

"Hi," she said with a wave.

"Hey." Rory answered.

"So now the pleasantries are out of the way. What are you doing here?!" Logan exclaimed making a wild gesture with his hands.

"I called." She smiled sweetly batting her eyelashes.

"And I said NO!!!! Argh!" He left the hallway, practically stomping. Lena ran after him.

"Logan come on! Please!"

He looked at his sisters pleading eyes. And no, at this time they didn't do anything. He still wanted to inflict bodily harm.

"Please?"

"Mitchum will be worried."

"If he even notices I'm gone… I hate him anyway." she murmured, sitting down on the couch, twisting her hands.

"Lena, don't say that." He sat down in front of her running his hands through his already messy hair.

"Why?! You do."

"I don't… hate him." he sighed. "I resent things he did, does, but he is still my father and yours for that matter."

"He lets Shira do everything. Did you know that she threatened to sell moms piano, if I didn't come to this stupid charity thing with her."

Logan closed his eyes. That sounded typically like Shira.

"And she is always sweet like a goddamn diabetics p…"

"Don't finish that." He cut her off with a disgusted face.

"What I was saying is, that I can't prove to dad that she is a hag! She is always so goddamn sweet. Makes me sick."

He chuckled.

"You would make a for murder convicted sailor blush, do you know that?"

"Sorry. She just! Argh! I don't want to go home."

"I'll talk to Shira. She is not going to sell that piano even if it is the last thing I do. But you have to stop doing this. Running away. This is like the third time this year. And last time I had to go to Florida to collect you!"

"I did buy you a Mickey Mouse mug."

He laughed. It was simply impossible to be mad at this girl.

"So what am I going to do with you?"

"I can stay?!" she squealed.

"Only today!"

"Awww…can't I stay the whole weekend?" she looked at him pleadingly.

"No… only today." He sighed. "But I'll come to Hartford on Saturday, ok?"

"OOOOOH I love you! I love you! I love you!" she bounced throwing her arms around his neck.

"**Only **today. Do you hear me? And call dad." He handed her the phone.

"Yes, yes! I promise. Only today and you are coming." She solemnly folded her hands, but the rest of her was jumping like quicksilver.

"In…" he looked at his watch "2 hours Rory's mom is coming and I'm not sure how well our dinner will go. I want you to behave."

"I'll be like an angel…"

"Yeah yeah…" he mumbled getting up.

He wondered were Rory had wandered off and peeked in the bedroom, but it was empty. He pushed the door of the study open and smirked at the sight of Rory doing an almost successful attempt of crawling IN his computer.

"You'll go blind," he observed, catching her off guard.

"What is so interesting that it causes you to physically crawl in the computer?" he asked closing to the desk, the smile not leaving his face.

* * *

"Logan! Come on!" Rory could hear Lena pleading. She didn't know what to do. Keep out or go in. This was so strange. Dean had had a little sister, but the emphasis had been on little. How was she supposed to act around a sixteen year old? She silently left the hallway and made her way into the study, shutting the door to give them some privacy. With a sigh she let herself down in the chair at the antique desk and decided to check her email, since Logan's laptop was just sitting there…looking bored. She scrolled down her emails. Paris, YDN, study group, Christopher. She scanned through them, till her eyes locked on the piece of correspondence. _Paris Internship Program, _it said. She had sent them a letter 2 moths ago, seeing it not only as a great opportunity to get some experience and clean up her French, but also as a way to get her mind straight about Logan… 3 months without the boy could give her some perspective. But now, now she was afraid to open it and find a positive answer. She held her breath as her hand moved the cursor on the mail and she clicked it open. Her heart made a jump when the page appeared before her. 

_Dear Miss. Gilmore,_

_The Organization of the University of Yale Paris Internship Program is hereby inclined to inform you, that you have been accepted to the program of 2006/2007. Further information will reach you by mail the following week. In case questions arise, you can contact the secretariat during office hours. _

_Kind Regards, E. Stampton, chairwoman of the Organization of the University of Yale Paris Internship Program _

Rory read it ones, twice… and heaved a sigh. She had gotten in. Her eyes flew over the lines once more, but there it was, beaming to her as if the message was set in neon letters: She had gotten in. Did she want to be in? She sighed once more. Something to ponder about later.

"You'll go blind." His voice made her jump up.

He was leaning against the doorpost, smirking.

"What is so interesting that it causes you to physically crawl in the computer?" he asked coming closer.

She clicked the window away and shrugged.

"Nothing. Just read my mail. How is Lena?"

He sighed.

"We'll have to set the table for one more."

"She is staying? That's nice." Rory nodded.

"Sorry, I didn't know she was going to barge in like that…"

"It's ok." Rory smiled.

"Ok then. Come one, lets finish that lasagna."

"Can I cut the veggies?" Rory asked bouncing after him. "If you say no, I'm going to mock you forever!" she finished in a singsong voice.

Logan rolled his eyes, handing her the knife. He took a swing from the bottle of wine on the counter. Rory raised an eyebrow.

"What?" She kept staring at him.

"What?!" Her hands traveled to her sides as she maintained her piercing stare.

"Oh holy mother of Moses!" Logan opened a cabinet, took out a glass and demonstratively filled it with wine.

"Good boy." Rory smirked and sliced the tomato in two.

"Need a hand in here?" Lena asked, hopping on the counter and putting half a tomato in her mouth.

"Ehm…no we got it," Rory smiled.

"Did you call Mitchum?" Logan asked taking a sip from his glass.

"I was going to…"

"Lena…"

"I really was…"

"Lena…"

"I don't wanna!"

"Lena…"

"You sound like a broken record." She rolled her eyes. With a tea towel he smacked her butt.

"Go call him."

Pouting she disappeared in the living room. Rory couldn't help but smile. Logan in full big brother mode, was heart warming.

"What is so funny?" he asked snaking his arms around her waist and steeling a slice of tomato.

"Hey! Knock it off! Wait until dinner, otherwise we wont have anything to put in said dinner."

"You are very bossy today." He snickered.

"No I'm not!" she protested.

"Yes you are…"

"I'm not!"

"Booossyyyyy," He breathed in her ear.

"I'm not bossy!" she turned around in his embrace, now leaning against the counter. "It's simply yuk when you dribble all over the bottle. They didn't invent glasses for nothing, you know."

"You make it sound like I'm some sort of walking bacteria."

Rory chuckled.

"But a very cute one."

"A cute germ…" He pretended to contemplate about it. "I can live with that."

He lowered his head leaning his forehead against hers.

"You look very pretty today."

"My socks don't match…" Rory deadpanned.

"And I still…" he started.

"He wants to talk to you." Lena remarked. _…love you all the same. _He sighed, letting go of her and reaching for the phone.

"I'll be right back." He said padding into the living room.

"Soooo…" Lena started, "you are his girlfriend?"

"Yep, according to rumors I am."

"I'm still shocked." She blurted out. "Logan is not known for his monogamy, trust me."

Rory smirked.

"I trust you."

"So how did you two meet?"

"Logan and his friends were looking for a redhead…in my dorm."

"Finn?" she smirked.

"Oh yes."

"So then what happened?" Lena installed herself on the counter once again. "He asked you out? You said yes? And you lived happily ever after?"

Rory put down the knife. She couldn't help but feel some sort of resentment in that girl.

"No, I hated his guts and he kept annoying me."

"But you still went out with him."

"Eventually."

"Do you love him?" Rory drew in a deep breath. What was her problem?

"I do." She then stated.

"So you first hated him and when you found out who he was you loved him?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing…just very convenient." Lena shrugged.

"Well you got me there. I'm planning on cleaning out his bank account. Did you know that we have a child on the way? Yeah…then he HAS to marry me and well I'm all set for life." She shoved the lasagna into the oven and straightened up again.

"Do you think that little of him?"

"I don't. But he is a guy after all…"

"Yeah. He is a guy. One of the good ones, although he doesn't know it himself. And he is not stupid, Lena."

"I never said he was."

"You just inclined that."

"What's going on?" Logan asked.

"Nothing…" both of them mumbled. Rory proceeded chopping the onions. Starting a rift between Logan and Lena was not on her agenda.

His eyes darted from his sister to his girl and back again.

"I didn't fall on my head. What is going on?"

"We had a discussion…" Lena answered looking at Rory, who nodded slightly.

Logan rubbed his eyes and sighed.

"Can you finish?" Rory asked him. "I want to jump in the shower before mom comes here."

He nodded, stepping aside to let her through. And raised his eyebrows at Lena.

"What did you say to her?"

"I…didn't."

"Stop bullshitting me. Just 2 minutes ago she was smiling."

"Well that's because you practically had your tongue down her throat."

He sighed. Sometimes he wanted to throw something at her. Something big, heavy and pointy and…

"I simply asked her how you met. She told me that she hated you at first and that she loved you when she found out that you were loaded."

"You really are an immature little brat, aren't you?"

"What?"

"You heard me. You come here uninvited, ruin my plans, you offend my girlfriend."

His tone was rising with every word he uttered. Lena felt tears pricking in her eyes.

"I care about you. I don't want some money-grubber to make you all miserable." She defended her actions.

"Right now **you** are making me miserable." He spat. "When she gets out of that shower, you are going to apologize."

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are! Don't fuck with me! I'm really not in the mood!" He slammed his wineglass on the counter, causing it to break in two. Lena jumped up.

He left her alone and she let out a sob, angrily flinging the tea towel through the kitchen.

Logan turned on the TV sitting down on the couch and willing his nerves to unwind. His eyes took in the images of snow ploughs working overtime, roads closing down, electric failure wrapping half of the state of New York in dusk and he turned his gaze to the window. Obese snowflakes were falling down and he furrowed his eyebrows.

* * *

Rory turned off the water and wrapped herself in a soft towel. She had tried to wash away that heavy feeling but it was still nestling in her stomach and facing Logan's sibling once more didn't sound all that appealing. She brushed her wet hair and got dressed enjoying the feel of Logan's heated bathroom floor. This room was almost like a shrine. Silent, serene, warm and comforting… with the bathtub of course as it's altar. She padded into the living room, finding Logan in front of the TV. He smiled padding on the spot next to him. 

"Vermont and New York are snowed in…It's coming here too. Roads are closing down." He remarked with a little nod in the direction of the TV.

"I'm going to call mom." She said getting up, but got pulled back down.

"Are you ok?" he asked her.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

He shook his head with a smirk..

"Go call your mom."

Rory walked into the bedroom grabbing her phone when a soft knock on the door made her turn around. She lowered her phone and straightened up at the sight of Lena standing in the doorway.

"Hey." She said, "Can I come in?"

Rory nodded.

"I…I didn't mean to offend you earlier." Lena said, looking at the floor. "So I'm sorry. I was wrong."

"It's fine."

Without a further word Lena turned around and left. Rory's eyes were fixed on the empty doorway. Somehow she wasn't convinced this was over. She sighed and put the phone to her ear.

"_This is Madame Olga. I see all and know all. To whom am I speaking?"_

"Hey, mom…"

* * *

"Oh my God! You won't believe this! I woke up this morning to 2 feet of snow! And it still is snowing!" Lorelai rambled exploding through the door. " And Babbette's sister, who was about to visit, had to abandon her car driving through Stars Hollow at 6 in the morning. She turned down the street and discovered that it wasn't plowed and got stuck and luckily the night before Babbette talked her in wearing snow clothes suitable for getting stranded. She scoffed at the time, thinking it was absurd that she might need them! But this morning she was **very **thankful. So Morey was banging on my door at 6.32 in the morning telling me that they were planning on hiking there sometime today and shoveling the Land Rover – I might add – out. So if he could borrow the shovel and I, being all helpful me said, of course. So I **crawled **out of the snow tomb that is around my house right now and I couldn't get in the garage." 3 pairs of eyes were staring at her, 2 of mouths hanging open. 

"There is simply too much snow to drive cars! Anyway I **climbed **through that mountain of snow like a skilled saint Bernard sniffling for stranded skiers and finally got to the garage when I noticed that the garage door was frozen stuck…See that is why I never ever park my car in there! It's suicide…" The woman went on and Logan started to question the fact that a human needed oxygen to survive.

"So anyway I wanted to blow-dry it – the door not the car- and I crawled back to the house, but the cord of the blow-dryer wasn't long enough and I had already used the patch cable for the VCR and I couldn't just pull it out, because I have no clue how to set the clock on the thing again and so I couldn't get in the garage and borrow Morey our shovel. Do we even have a shovel?" she asked.

Rory opened her mouth to answer the question, but was cut off by the continuing rant.

"So then I made a path to my beloved car, to come here and it didn't budge! It made this '_ughieghie_' sound and then nothing… So I had to call Chris! Because Luke's truck was at Gipsy's, and Gipsy had slipped on the pavement outside miss Patty's studio and I think broken her tail-bone or sprained it, I'm not sure Kirk was very vague. And then Chris drove all slow in that stuck up Volvo of his and I kept yelling that he needed to step on it. But he yelled back that it wasn't safe and then I yelled that we were in a frikkin' Volvo so it leveled out our reckless behavior, being the safest car on the planet and all, but anyway it's horrible outside and that's why I'm late. Sorry, hon." Lorelai drew a deep breath, taking off her coat.

"Hey, mom." Rory smiled, taking her coat from her and kissing her cheek. "This is Logan and his sister Lena, who is visiting."

"Lorelai Gilmore." The older version of Rory introduced herself.

"Mrs Gilmore." Logan gave her a polite nod.

"Where?!" Lorelai exclaimed almost jumping into her daughters arms.

"Excuse me?"

"The only Mrs Gilmore I know is well that is not true…I know two. But anyway, be careful where you yell that… you might get struck by lightning!"

"Mom!" Rory tried to get her mothers limbs off of her.

"It's true…It has happened before!"

Rory rolled her eyes and shook her head at Logan.

"I'm going to call Melissa! See if she wants to go see a movie tonight." Lena told Logan and he nodded. After his requested apology to Rory and a spontaneous one to him, he had chosen to let the matter go and all seemed like it used to be again.

"Make it quick," he added, "We are going to eat soon."

"I'll be right out!" she yelled from the study. That would mean a half hour at the least.

* * *

"So this is where you live?" Lorelai asked looking around the living room, a fire burning in a open masonry fireplace, pool table covered in books, an unfinished game and maps, a harness standing in the corner. It looked hassle-free and judging from the wall covering bookcase filled with books like a place Rory could feel at home. 

"It's nice." She said. Now the rambling and craziness was done, she didn't really know what to say. She couldn't help it. She didn't fully trust the guy.

"Thanks. Ehm, would you like some wine?" Logan offered.

"Yes. Thanks." Logan nodded disappearing in the kitchen.

"It's a very nice place." She said and Rory smiled.

"It is." She preferred it above hers. "It's cozy."

"What's with the harness?"

"Oh that's Henry."

"Henry."

"Yes. Henry." The two women just looked at each other, both of them a little uncomfortable.

Logan returned with 2 glasses of wine handing them to both of them.

"The lasagna has been ready for some time now, so shall we dig in, otherwise it will get cold."

"I'll get it." Rory suggested and padded in to the kitchen. Logan and Lorelai sat down. She sipped from her wine.

"Sooo… It's cold outside." Lorelai offered.

"Yes, yes it is." The rustling of the fire echoed through the room as an uncomfortable silence set in.

"Tomorrow is Valentines day. Are Rory and you doing something special?" Lorelai asked.

"No. We are not really into the hole Hallmark extravaganza. We discussed it and decided that it's not for us."

Lorelai opened her mouth to disagree when Rory entered the living room again wearing rooster shaped oven mittens, a dish in her hands. She put it on the table and plopped down on a chair.

"Lena is not going to come back until that phone falls apart from misery," Logan sighed, "We can start without her."

"Are you sure?" Rory asked.

"Yes. I don't want to risk you starving. You might chew my leg off." he winked.

Rory stuck her tongue out to him and Lorelai, observing the couples interaction, smiled.The first bite of the lasagna was barely swallowed when a door slammed shut.

"Elvis is dead, Mozart is dead, Einstein is dead! And to be frank I'm not feeling so great myself…" Finn declared barging into the living room.

"Finn, why are you here and what can I do to change that?" Logan sighed.

The Australian grinned taking in his annoyed friend, his girlfriend… and the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

"My GOD!" He exclaimed, dropping on his knees, "Who are you, oh heavenly creature?!"

"Oh my…"Lorelai snickered, "I'm flattered. Lorelai Gilmore."

"Lorealai Gilmore" Finn repeated in awe. "Are you our dear Rory's sister?"

"Try more along the path of her mother and who are you?"

"My God those are good genes!" He mumbled and 'subtly' gave Logan the thumbs up. My name is Finnegan Antonius Daniel Matthew Joseph Stoddart….the THIRD! " he finished with an increase in volume and took a well needed breath.

"But you can call me Finn. Are you married, dear?" he proceeded. Logan paled. He loved the blockhead from down under, but this was certainly not the time to open 'the box of charm', that usually had people running away screaming for mercy. How the bloke got woman was beyond his comprehension.

He looked at Rory, but she was only speechlessly staring at the scene before her.

"Finn." He groaned, "Quit it! What do you want?"

Before he could respond Lena flung herself at him.

"Finn, you old rascal!"

"Old?! Watch it, little Sheilla." He hugged the girl, getting of the floor. "Didn't know you were visiting."

"I…"

"She is not." Logan cut her off and earned himself a glare. "She is invading, like yourself… And that, my friend, is a subtle hint."

"I'm as confused as a baby in a topless bar, mate." Finn furrowed his eyebrows

Oh my good lord, Logan thought. Rory's mother was not only going to take away Rory and put her in a tower behind 7 locks, but he was also not going to be able to blame her.

"Finn! What are you doing here?!"

"Oh thank God! I thought he got hit by a snow plough or something!" Colin yelled shaking the snow off his coat, "I thought you were hit by the snow plough!!!!" His finger was dangerously close to Finn's eyeball.

"Dirty nail, mate." Was Finn's dry remark.

"I told you! Come back in 10 min!" Colin kept screaming. "Seth! Robert! Will! They are all out there in the bloody snowstorm looking for you! Hey, Lena! It's been long." He cheerfully ended his rant.

"Well that is bloody brilliant. I was here…" Finn shrugged plopping down on the couch and snatching the bottle of wine in one fluent and graceful movement.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE CALLED!"

Colin yanked the bottle out of his hands and Logan was certain he was going to smash it on the Aussies head. He felt a migraine coming up. This was not happening. This was **not **happening. **WHY **was this happening?!

"OK!!! ENOUGH!" he yelled and the two bickering men plainly stared at him. "In the Study!"

"But…" Finn attempted to protest, nevertheless stopping at the sight of Logan's almost diabolic facial expression.

As two children who were just rebuked and were now awaiting a beating, the men plodded to the study.

"Excuse me for a moment." Logan apologized and followed them with clenched fists. Lena skipped after him, rambling something about movies and Jude Law.

* * *

"Sooooo…" Lorelai started and burst out in laughter. "That was almost as good as a Stars Hollow festival." 

"**Nothing** is as good as a Stars Hollow festival…, but yes the insanity comes close." Rory corrected with smile.

"Is it always like this here?" Lorelai asked taking another bite of the lasagna, "And this is sooo good!"

"When those two are around, yes. When they aren't it's quiet, nice. And if you meant the lasagna…it is. But I'm also starving."

"Yes those snowstorms make a person hungry. Do I have to get you out of tomorrows Friday night dinner? Since it's Valentines day?"

Rory shrugged.  
"No, I'll come. Logan isn't a big fan of Valentines day." She remarked and raised her eyebrows at the muffled arguing that flowed into the living room.

"I noticed. Doesn't that affect you? I know that you love Valentines Day."

Another shrug.  
"I can't make him do something he doesn't want. Plus he didn't freak out completely when I told him that you were coming. I guess that is as good a Valentines gift as any."

Lorelai gave her daughter a sad smile. Deep down that girl was a romantic. She loved the Stars Hollow Valentines festival, that was cancelled due to the snowstorm this year.

"I'm so sorry about that." Logan sighed reentering the room and sitting down again.

"Bye, enjoy your evening." Colin yelled from the hall opening the door.

"Bye!" Rory yelled back.

Suddenly Finn ran back into the room, once again dropping in his knees and sealing a kiss on Lorelai's captured hand.

"Divine!" He gushed, scrambling of the floor. "See you, love." He addressed Rory with a wink and made a quick exit before Logan could throw something at him.

"Byeee!!!" Lena yelled as well.

"Hey! Wait! Where are you going?" Logan exclaimed. This evening was wrecking him.

"To Melissa. You said I could go." Lena raised her eyebrows.

"Now? What about dinner?"

"We'll grab something on the way to the theater, otherwise we'll miss the movie."

"I want you to get back right after the movie, comprenez?"

"Oui!" she saluted and ran out the door after Finn and Colin. Logan let himself down in his seat again and downed his glass of wine in one gulp.

Rory patted his hand and he gave her a tired smile.

* * *

The dinner, filled with light conversation and jokes hadn't been a complete disaster. They were half through desert and Lorelai's explanation of the Civil War reenactment in Stars Hollow when her cell phone started playing the Oompa-Loompa song. Lorelai excused herself for a moment and went into the kitchen. 

"How are you holding up?" Rory asked. Logan shrugged with a smile.

"My batteries are a little low after today. But other than the display of Finn as my friend I didn't embarrass you, did I?"

Rory chuckled, giving him a peck on the cheek.  
"Thank you, for doing this."

"You're welcome." He winked. "More wine?"

"Do you want to get me drunk?" she scoffed letting him fill her glass.

"Why how on earth am I going to take advantage of you otherwise?"

"It's official!" Lorelai exclaimed. "the end of the earth is near. They are closing down roads and if I want to get home tonight, I have to hitch a ride from Christopher, whose Volvo and he himself are standing downstairs. The doorman doesn't believe that he is not a burglar or serial killer, which I don't blame him, to be honest."

"Oh I'm sorry." Logan got up, calling Eddie.

* * *

"Hello everybody!" Christopher greeted cheerfully, closing the door behind him. 

"Hey dad."

"Hello, Volvo-man!" Lorelai chirped.

"I'm Logan. Logan Huntzberger." Logan extended his hand, which Christopher shook.

"Christopher Hayden. Nice place."

"Thanks."

"So you are Rory's…"

"Boyfriend." Logan answered timidly. These were way too much parents on one day.

"Boyfriend, yes. Did we know that she had a boyfriend?" he asked Lorelai.

"We do now. So what is the deal? Am I being Volvoed out?"

"Yes, you are. Sorry to cut the evening short. But it's getting worse outside by the minute."

"That's ok. Logan, it was nice to meet you, dressed and all." She winked. "Fruitloin! I am going to see you tomorrow. And remember to wear snow clothes suitable for getting stranded. Do we have snow clothes suitable for getting stranded?" she asked Christopher.

"Nooo…We have a Volvo."

"Ah yes the Volvo! Well ok. Bye!" She kissed Rory.

"Bye. Drive safe."

"Of course we will. We have a Volvo after all."

"Would you stop with the Volvo already?! It's a good car!" Christopher groaned dragging Lorelai out the door.

"So… that was that." Rory sighed, plopping on the couch on top of Logan.

"Yep." He sighed in return, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "You know?" he started once more and groaned when the intercom zoomed yet again. This was starting to feel like a Jerry Springer show with 'I love you' being the beeped words.

* * *

"I'll get that." Rory smirked. "Mom, probably forgot something. Or Lena came home." 

"Not Lena." Logan called after her. "She texted me, that she was spending the night at her friends house." It wasn't long before both Lorelai and Christopher were standing in the hallway again. Lorelai barely containing her laughter.

"Would you happen to have a flashlight?" Christopher asked. "We have a bit of a situation."

"A situation?" Logan asked.

"Yes, you see…"

"The Volvo has a flat." Lorelai exclaimed, doubling over in laughter.

Christopher ignored the woman and looked at Logan who drew in a deep breath.

"I'm sure I have a flashlight, but it's night, it's freezing and there is a blizzard raging…I'm not sure the flashlight will be of much help." He said.

"You could stay at my place," Rory offered, "and fix the wheel in the morning."

"You forgot the heat, Ace, or well lack there of." Logan reminded her and she furrowed her eyebrows.

"I forgot. There is no heat today and tomorrow."

"Well we could…"

"Stay here." Logan proposed and a silence filled the hall. "The couch is comfortable and I have this comfy air bed. Why not? At least it's not freezing."

"Well…" Christopher started.

"If it's not…" Lorelai added.

"I'm going to make some coffee." Rory smiled, giving Logan's hand a squeeze. He had no idea what it meant to her, him offering a place to stay. He had no obligation what so ever and yet he did it, he tried. _I love you._

Logan responded with a squeeze back. _You're welcome, Ace, I love you._

* * *

"You got kicked out of Marks, Andover, Rivers **and **Groton all in the same year?" Christopher asked incredulously. 

Logan laughed.

"No I actually finished a year at Andover. Lasted about 2 months at Groton and Marks and I think 3 weeks at Rivers."

"I thought no one got kicked out of Rivers." Christopher mused.

"So did we. But the headmasters Miata on the bottom of the lake proved to be just the ticket out."

Christopher let out a laugh.

"You got yourself a good man here, Rory."

"I think he is already taken." Lorelai snickered.

"Interesting measuring standard you are using." Rory retorted carrying a tray with mugs. She handed one to Lorelai who was slyly enjoying the conversation between the two men, one to Christopher and one to Logan, who was sitting in the loveseat.

"No, thanks. I'm past my coffee drinking hours." He declined.

"It's not coffee." Rory interjected.

"It's not…"

"Nope. Tea."

Logan took the mug from her and smelled it. Green tea and jasmine.

"I didn't know we had green tea."

"I know, I bought it for you." Rory answered nestling herself on the loveseat next to him. Logan lifted his arms so she could put her legs over his. If it hadn't been for her parents sitting on the couch in front of them he would have kissed her, but now he only gave her a smile and a friendly nudge.  
Lorelai watched the delicate exchange of affection and smiled. Those two, not only fit perfectly into that one and a half person loveseat, but also together. She still didn't knew Logan well, but the looks he gave her daughter, she felt his eyes adoring her. And the way he understood her in one word, one gesture. He simply saw her, as Rory had put it.  
After they had come back from the Volvo-catastrophe, conversation seemed to flow naturally. Outside it was freezing, but inside the ice seemed to be broken.

"Movie?" Rory suggested out of nowhere bouncing out of the seat and Lorelai's eyes lit up.

"Oh boy here we go…" Christopher mumbled and Logan smirked for thinking the same.

* * *

"Well, goodnight." Rory said linking pinkies with Logan. 

Logan nodded.

"Night." Lorelai and Chris answered in unison. Rory smiled tailing after Logan into the bedroom. I silence Logan dimmed the lights and they crawled in to bed. In the dark he could still see her eyes sparkle. She was staring at him and he couldn't help but smile.

"I liked them, Ace." He said, waiting for her to cuddle up to him. Her eyes smiled and her head moved to his shoulder.

* * *

"What do you think they are doing?" Chris asked installing himself on the couch. 

"I have an idea or two." Lorelai answered from the air bed.

Chris jumped up as if he just had been sitting on an ant-hill.

"Oh my God! They are having sex! **He **is touching **my **girl!" he uttered in a loud whisper.

Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"That girl **has** been touched before and I was actually aiming for: 'sleep'." Before that sentence had fully left her mouth Chris had already jumped up, ran to the bedroom and threw open the door. The lights were out and he could distinguish two silhouettes in the bed.

"Dad?" Rory's voice filled the room.

"Uhm…yes… Could I have…another…blanket?" he asked clearing his throat.

"Sure." Logan's voice followed and he could see someone move. Out of the closet Logan got another blanket and handed it to Chris.

"Uhm…thanks." Chris uttered scratching his head.

"No problem."

"Dad? Are you ok?" Rory asked. His eyes, now accustomed to the light, could discern his daughter currently sitting up in the bed.

"Yes, yes. Chilly. Night." With that he left. He could here Lorelai's giggles, clearly suffocated by a pillow and rolled his eyes.

"Stop gloating." He told her laying down on the couch again, after throwing the blanket on the coffee table. It was scorching in there.

"Ok come on!" he uttered when the giggles only intensified. "Lore….?" Nothing. Just giggles. He sighed and closed his eyes.

* * *

Logan lay down again. 

"Despite the fact that they are checking up on us… I like them." He snickered.

"They were not checking up on us." Rory scoffed letting herself fall back in the soft pillow.

"Yes they were. They thought we were having sex."

"No they didn't. Dad just…"

"Ace, it's 90 degrees out there." He cut her off, and chuckled at her gasp of indignation.

"Oh my God! They **were** checking up on us!"

"Night, Ace." He closed his eyes.

"I can't believe they checked on us!" she went on.

"Night, Ace."

"Seriously, that is…"

"Ace! Good night! Except if you want give them something to check up on!"

She was silent for a while and he could almost feel the color creeping up her cheeks.

"Noooo…"

"Good night then…"he smirked.

"Night."


	14. La Vie en Rose

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gilmore Girls.

**AN: So Valentines day is coming up and I thought maybe I should wait till then before posting...but then again. Maybe this will get you in the mood. Haha. I thank you all, whom I havent thanked for your wonderful reviews and I hope you'll like this chapter. It was fun to write. :) Cheers! Oh! Italics are flashback. :) Read and review!**

**Chapter 14.** _La vie en rose_

"So she went back to that pecker…What can I say…I bowed out gracefully…" Colin sighed.

"Sure, mate, it was about as graceful as a cross-eyed hippo on a three wheeled skateboard." Finn deadpanned.

"Oh shut up!" Colin exclaimed really put out.

Logan snickered, spearing a piece of meatloaf on his fork and dropping it again with a disgusted face.

"Well Colin… he did beat the crap out of you." He then added.

"Not thy too, Brutus!" his friend feigned hurt then turning serious again. "He did no such thing."

"He broke your nose," Logan smirked, amusement dancing on his features and dark clouds on Colin's.

"AND!" Finn added, "He kicked you in the balls!"

"I hate you two." Colin murmured under his breath, his arms crossed in front of his chest. It was a freezing February 14th afternoon, a snowstorm raging outside and they had been sitting, here in the warm Yale cafeteria, enjoying their meals, though both enjoying and meals were pretty stretched phrases. Logan snickered at the sight of a couple making out at the table next to theirs, and looked away.

* * *

_It was shortly after 8 when his cell phone, woke Logan. He rummaged about till he got a grip on the little thing and answered with a groggy voice. It was Lena who told him she was going to be back at 10. He mumbled a positive answer and hung up, turning his head to see Rory. He smirked finding her lost in Norman Mailers latest book._

"_Morning." He greeted getting an 'mhm' in return. With a yawn he got out of bed leaving Rory under the covers, with her nose plastered to the page. He stretched while padding to the kitchen, turning on the coffeemaker and collecting the paper. He peeked into the living room, finding her parents still asleep and had poured two mugs full of coffee one for himself and one for Rory. He was about to pull the bagels out of the fridge when two arms wrapped themselves around his waist. _

"_Young Hitler lost your interest?" he smirked, referring to the book she was reading. _

"_I smelled coffee." She explained. _

"_Ah…silly me." He turned around facing her and shook his head in amusement seeing that she was wearing his bathrobe yet again. _

"_Do you want it?" he asked. _

"_Yes, please." She stuck out her hands in anticipation. _

"_Not the coffee, you caffeine buff. The robe." He rolled his eyes at her fixation._

"_What? No."_

"_But you wear it all the time as it is."_

"_Because it's yours. If you give it to me, it wont be yours anymore and that would defy the grounds for wearing it." She explained as if to a three-year-old._

"_The robe being mine." He deadpanned. _

"_The robe being yours." She nodded, "now can I…?" she tried to peer over his shoulder. _

_He sighed in defeat, stepping aside. Instead of launching herself at the liquid as he had expected she sweetly placed a kiss on his cheek. He had tugged on the sash of the robe pulling her closer._

"_Ace, I…"_

"_Good morning! Is that coffee I smell?" He groaned. This could mean only one thing. The Lorelai had awoken._

* * *

"What is up with people?" he mumbled. 

"It's Valentines day…duh…" Finn rolled his eyes, "I have a sweet Valentina for tonight…" he wiggled his eyebrows. "You taking Rory somewhere?"

"Nope." He answered sticking a carrot in his mouth.

"No? It's Valentines Day!!! And she is your girlfriend!"

"Thanks for the information, Finn…now I'm all up to date…girlfriend ha?" The sarcasm was dripping from his tone.

"No need to get in a paddy, mate…I'm just saying… Rory is going to be sad…"

"No she is not. We talked about this. And we agreed that Valentines Day is an overrated, plastic and cheesy holiday."

"Did you agree? Or did** YOU **agree?" Colin asked.

"What? …What is this guys? The Spanish inquisition? We are NOT - do you want me to spell it- celebrating Valentines Day. There is no need for A day for me to take her out… Now.. Quit it!"

"We like her, Logan." Colin said

"Well that's good."

"We really like her..." Finn emphasized.

"Oh and what I don't?"

The two just stared at him.

"Oh Come ON! I love that girl!" he exclaimed angry.

Finn dropped his fork and the table filled with silence. Logan's heart missed a beat or two and he suddenly felt sick. He loved her and those two idiots were the first to hear it. Both Colin and Finn were staring at him more confused than two woodpeckers in a concrete jungle.

Without a word he got up, leaving his friends behind, the complete shock due to his sudden confession evident on their faces.

He was just outside, breathing in the cold air watching gusts of snow being blown into every direction, when he felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped up.

"Well aren't you a scardycat…" Her voice was filled with a chuckle.

"Hey" he greeted, "Did your mom get home ok?"

"Yes, she did. What are you doing here in this…well blizzard really."

"Getting some Colin slash Finn free air…Don't you have class?"

"No. Half the classes are canceled due to the snowstorm. Roads are well inaccessible. I was off to the library and…" Logan furrowed his eyebrows when she stuck a rose in his nose.

"What…"

"I know you…**we **said no Valentines day…but I wanted to wish you a happy Valentines day anyway, because in a way you ARE my Valentine and well I thought why does it always have to be a guy who gives the girl flowers. I mean a girl can give a guy flowers just as good and so here for you…" she rambled, sticking out her gloved hand, holding a single red rose. Somewhere in the middle of that rant a smile had started creeping up his face.

He took the flower from her and brushed his lips softly across hers.

"Thank you, Ace."

Rory blushed.

"I think I saved the emancipation of women from doom." she chuckled.

"I think you did." He smiled, securing a loose curl behind her ear.

"Well I'll be going then… them essays don't write themselves…" she sighed and gave him a peck on the lips, before continuing her way to the library.

"I'll see you tomorrow."She smiled, turning around ones more, pulling her scarf tighter.

"Are you still going to your grandparents? In this weather?"

"Yes."

"Rory…"

"It's Friday. Friday night dinner. I'm going to my grandparents. I owe them and with mom … I want to be there."

"Rory…I don't want you to drive in this whiteout."

"I will be fine, Logan. Don't worry. I have to go." She gave him a small wave and disappeared in the mist of white.

He furrowed his eyebrows and twisted the flower in his fingers, before turning back.

"Nice flower, mate." Finn stated, once he sat down again. "Secret admirer?"

"Rory…" he sighed gazing into space for a while.

Both Colin and Finn were looking at their friend, trying to gauge him.

"I'm an idiot, aren't I." he then deadpanned. Colin and Finn looked at each other and then nodded vehemently.

"Well…" Finn started, "any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error. So we are not giving up on you yet. Valentines day still has 8 hours and 14 minutes to go."

"I have to go, lads." He said standing up.

"You better make it good, mate!" Finn yelled after him. He grinned and turned to Colin.

"Our little boy is growing up." He brushed away a fake tear.

"Yep…That leaves one more to go." Colin nodded.

"Who?"

Colin raised his eyebrows and shook his head in desperation.

* * *

"You ring it." 

"Why do I have to ring it? You ring it."

Both mother and daughter were standing outside the massive oak door, bickering about who was to ring the bell.

"I'm cold." Rory quivered.

"Then ring the bell…"

Rory pouted and was about to pull the bell, when the door flew open and both women jumped back with a yelp. It was as if the door opening was lit up by lightning and the ground shook with thunder, when Emily Gilmore appeared, frankly looking as if she got struck by lighting or had collided with an electricity cable herself.

"Mom what happened to your hair?" Lorelai inquired referring to the usually tidy classic hair due, now powerful enough to scare a seasoned punk rocker away.

"Well don't just stand there like that, get in!" Emily sneered turning around. "The new blow-dryer your grandfather brought from Japan ate my hair! Those Asians! Cruel race!"

"Oooh this is even scarier than Kirk running for town mayor." Lorelai stage whispered skipping into the house.

"What? Kirk for mayor? Mom???" Rory followed in, shutting the door.

* * *

Logan took a deep breath and got out of the car, climbing the stairs to the massive front door. Facing Emily and Richard Gilmore was at least as frightening as facing her mother, but he put on a nonchalant face and and pulled the bell. 

"Yes?" a stoic looking maid answered.

"Hi. I'm here to pick up a Lorelai Gilmore," he smirked and walked past her.

"Sir! You can't just barge in like that! There is a dinner going on! Sir! " the maid scuttled after him.

* * *

"What is that commotion?" Emily uttered, hair styled as if the Kamikaze blowdryer never had hit her. They had just started their second course. 

"I haven't got the faintest idea, dear." Richard answered putting down his fork.

"The mafia come to collect the debt…" Lorelai bounced in her chair. "Before you know it," she violently speared her Brussels sprout, "There will be a horses head in your bed."

Rory snickered hiding her amusement behind her napkin.

" That is sordid, Lorelai." Emily rolled her eyes. "Why can't you for once…Logan!"

"Logan?" Lorelai raised her eyebrows.

"Logan!" Richard uttered as well.

_Logan?! _Rory turned around on her chair and looked straight into his brown eyes.

"Sir!" The made pleaded.

"Evening everyone." Logan smirked.

"What? What are you doing here?" Rory stammered.

"I'm here to pick you up."

"Pick me up?"

"Pick her up?" the rest echoed.

"Yes," Logan interjected, "I'm sorry for barging in like this and disturbing your dinner. But I was hoping I could whisk away Rory here."

"I'm afraid I don't understand, young man." Richard furrowed his eyebrows.

"Do you know Logan?" Emily inquired her granddaughter.

"I…"

"Logan is an Eli too, Emily. And I believe he is also a member of the Yale daily news staff, isn't that right, Logan?"

Pretty stretched phrase, he thought, but nodded nevertheless.

"And you want to whisk away our granddaughter because…" Emily raised her eyebrows.

"It's Valentines day," Lorelai mouthed.

"Gary Winston is gay? Lorelai stop being absurd." Emily sneered.

"I think she tried to say waistlines filet." Richard offered.

"Well that doesn't make sense either…"

Lorelai heaved a sigh.

"Valentines day! VA-LEN-TINES DAY!" She emphasized.

"Well why don't you just say that?" Emily shook her head. "Is this true, Logan? Are you here to surprise Rory for Valentines Day?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh but that is wonderful!" Delightedly the elderly woman clapped in her carefully manicured hands. "Do you hear that, Richard? Rory has a secret admirer."

"Secret...hmmm." Lorelai batted her eyelashes.

"Lorelai cut it out! I'm starting to think that you have brain damage. Maybe the nanny dropped you on your head."

"That would explain a lot…The howling to the moon, involuntary arm movements…" she exchanged an amused look with Logan.

Rory was rooted to her chair, trying to grasp what was happening.

"Rory?" he offered her his hand. She looked at it.

"But…"

"No ifs, ands or buts about this. Just come with me. One minute less you haven't lived," he winked. She bit her lip with a smile, taking his hand.

She looked at her grandparents and saw Emily practically swooning at the scene before her as if it was a glorified version of Casablanca, she looked at her mother and saw her mouthing ' have fun'.

"Shall we?" she then asked.

"We shall. Enjoy your evening. Emily, wonderful as ever." Logan smirked, howling his woman out the door.

Lorelai swallowed her meatloaf, feeling slightly uncomfortable as Emily's peircing eyes were burning a whole in her skull.

"Why didn't you tell us?!"

"Tell you what?"

"About Logan courting Rory." Richard added.

"Courting? They haven't used that on since the Industrial Revolution."

"Lorelai!" Emily exclaimed.

She jumped up.

"He is her boyfriend! God!"

"Do you hear that, Emily? Rory has a boyfriend!"

"Boy do you two need an update." Lorelai mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing...nothing. I said they look cute together."

"Yes they do...imagine his blond hair and her blue eyes." Emily swooned, causing Lorelai to choke on her wine.

* * *

"Slow down!" Rory exclaimed, trying to keep up. 

"You slow down, you die."

"Yeah well you go too fast in heels you kind of die also." She whined.

He held open the door of the SUV for her.

"Where are we going?" she asked fastening her seatbelt.

"You'll see." He smirked.

"But…"

"Are you really going to start that again?" he snickered pulling out of the Gilmore driveway.

" New Haven! We are in New Haven!" she exclaimed a good half an hour later.

"No!"

"Where are you taking me? To some restaurant??? Chapel street? Why are you turning into Chapel street? And…High street and you are stopping…why are you stopping?" she rambled non-stop and Logan rolled his eyes at her inpatience.

"Because the light is red?"

"But why High street? You…"

"Live on High Street?" He smirked. "Yep."

She rolled her eyes.

"But why?"

"Why? Why? Why? Why?" he mimicked her and she stuck her tongue out to him. He pulled in his parking space.

"Mademoiselle," he helped her out of the car, putting a hand on the small of her back and leading her into his building.

They greeted Eddie and stepped into the elevator.

"What will I find in there?" Rory asked, "Finn in a diaper, fluffy wings and a heart shaped bow and arrow?"

"Aw, Ace! Now you ruined the surprise! All the effort I put into it! The blackmail the torture!" he put a hand on his heart, while the elevator echoed with his heartfelt cries.

"I think Finn would volunteer for a thing like that…even pay **you**!"

"Probably true." The elevator pinged and they entered the dimly lit hall.

"Close your eyes." He told her pulling the keys out of his pocket.

"What no blindfolds this time?"

"I trust you. Hey! No peeking!"

She let him lead her into the apartment, heels clicking on the hard wooden floor, warmth surrounding her.

"Open them…" he said somewhere close her ear. She could feel his breath in her neck. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked around the room speechless. The coffee table was gone. In its place lay blankets and pillows, Chinese food waiting. The fire was cozily crackling and candles were shrouding the room in a warm dusk. She turned to look at him.

"You didn't have to do this…"

"Yes, I did and I think an apology is in place as well. I was yelling so hard that Valentines day is stupid, that I completely missed out on the fact that you thought otherwise." He explained.

She blushed, enveloping him in a hug.

"You just did it to save your masculinity."

Logan smiled running a hand through her hair, taking in the sweet scent.

"Are you hungry? We have Peking duck."

"Peking duck?"

"Mhm."

"Lucky me."

"Yes…the duck was not quit as lucky."

They sat down on the floor and Rory smiled when her eyes caught the rose she had given him that afternoon, sitting in a wine bottle on the pool table.

* * *

"Oof I'm stuffed." Rory puffed laying her head on a pillow. 

"Stuffed?! You didn't even taste the dessert!" he exclaimed, getting up.

" Where are you going?" she asked sitting up again and craning her neck.

"I'll be right back, just getting the dessert" his muffled response reached her.

Rory sighed sipping from her wine and fixed her eyes on the dancing fire.

"Happy Valentines day." Logan said putting something around her neck. Struck by surprise Rory tried to turn around.

"A-a-a, one second. There." He said fastening whatever he had put around her neck.

"What?" She looked down and found an antiqued round locket pendant. It had a stunning flower motive and was hanging on a simple silver rope chain.

"Logan…it's beautiful." She uttered.

"You didn't have to do this."

"I wanted to…" he smiled.

"It's really. Wow." She kissed him. "It's the prettiest gift you have ever given me."

"I'm glad you like it."

"Like it? I love it!"

He sipped from his wine, looking at her dressed in that spellbinding pale pink chiffon dress. Delicate. Elegant. Classic. Her brown curls hugged her shoulders and back, the red ribbon that was holding a few strands of hair out of her lightly made-up face, coaxed a smile and he wanted nothing more than to have her then and there.

Rory saw it in his eyes, the need, desire and she was feeling it too. She got up putting the wineglasses and bottle on the mantelpiece and letting herself down on the floor, facing him. Their kiss was a gentle, lingering touch of the lips, a hesitation present on both parts as they were taking the time to memorize the feeling before they 'd part. The second she opened her eyes, he drowned in the blue of them a thousand times before claiming her lips, claiming her as his.

* * *

Logan leaned against the couch, heart racing eyes half closed, taking her in, her chest was rising and falling deeply with every breath she took; the pendant seductively falling in between her breasts; her soft curls, now a little messy draped over her shoulders; her golden skin shimmering with perspiration; her pupils wide in the blue pools of her eyes; lips swollen, slightly parted. So beautiful, sweet, his. 

"Penny for your thoughts?"

He smiled lazily.

"I was thinking that you are wonderful."

"How a cliché thing to say, mister Huntzberger."

"Do you prefer I love you?" he asked.

Rory was speechless. He wouldn't joke about something like that, would he?

Logan raised his eyebrows at her almost shocked facial expression.

"Rory?"

"I…don't joke about that."

She looked away.

"Rory, I don't… maybe it came out a little clumsy, but I wasn't joking. I love you. Look at me."

She steered her gaze to his face and couldn't find any trace of mockery, or play. His expression was completely sincere.

"I love you." He repeated, running a hand through her hair.

"I don't know what to say…"

"Well there is a new development. How about I love you back?" he smirked.

She smiled, the fire providing just enough light to confirm that she was blushing.

"I love you back."

He interlaced his fingers with hers and put her arms around his neck. Unconsciously her fingers entwined in his hair as he drew her closer.

"Are you happy?" she asked.

"I have quite a peaceful state of mind." He smirked.

"But you are not happy?" she inquired once more.

He groaned kissing her neck.

"Ace, you are sitting on me …naked. Yes, I'm happy!"

"You pervert!"

"Pervert? Art can never exist without naked beauty display'd."

"Who said that? Milton?" Rory chuckled.

"No, Blake actually."

"Well close enough."

"Shameful, Ace."

"Forgive me, oh literary gods." She cried out dramatically.

Logan laughed. Maybe, just maybe he was going to like Valentines day after all.

* * *

It was a ray of sunlight that woke him. Becoming more and more aware of the fact that he was on the floor he opened his eyes. He took in the disorder of pillows and blankets and Rory's face, close to his, a tangle of curls flared over the pillow she had her head on. He smiled, shifting a little, with a wince as a result. He felt as stiff as a piece of wood. The camping in the living room might have been a romantic idea, it hadn't been a very practical one. He wanted to move but found her weight on his arm and admitted defeat with a chuckle. With his free hand he stroked her nose till she sleepily opened her eyes. 

"Hey," she uttered in a sluggish voice accompanied with a lazy smile, followed by a cringe as she moved a little.

"My bones hurt," she whimpered.

"I know…" he smirked, pulling his arm from under her.

"I can't move," she whimpered.

"I know…"

Rory craned her neck, taking in the chaos they had made in the living room. The fire was smoldering in the fire place. She let her head fall in the pillow again and smiled at Logan, who was looking at her.

"Morning, lover." she chuckled.

"Morning, sunshine."

"I want coffee…and a bagel and…"

"…a hot shower." Logan finished.

"You read my mind, but I can't move."

"Come on we'll roll one another…"

"Ow!" Rory laughed as Logan pulled her, red sheet and all off the floor.

"Move those legs."

"I can't…carry me!" she exclaimed hanging her weight on his neck.

"Aaaah! Ace. No!"

They ended up on the floor once more and both heaved a deep sigh.

"Are you going to Hartford today?" she asked.

Logan nodded.

"Give me a ride since you kidnapped me and all?"

He looked at her with a cheeky grin.

"But of course. The Hollow calling?"

"Yes. There are town mayor elections. Kirk for mayor… I HAVE to see that. I mean IF Kirk gets himself elected town mayor. I think I'm gonna go for president."

"Me being first boyfriend…not bad." Logan mulled.

Rory laughed, resting her head on his shoulder.

"We are going to die here." She then 'cried'.

"No we are not. Come on, get that butt off the floor."

"I can't!"

"Yes you can! Listen, if you want to get elected president, you'll need some combat experience. And since you didn't fight in Nam… I think you should go for the next best thing."

"Lug my body to the shower?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Exactly!"

With a growl she got on all fours and proceeded to haul up her body, uttering a satisfied 'haha!' when she got up.

"And that, my friend, is a homo erectus!" she stated.

"Hey you, beautiful homo erectus, help this chimp through evolution?"

With a role of her azure eyes she pulled him up.

"You are so weak." She uttered pulling the sheet tighter around her naked body. He raised his eyebrows an wickedness flashing through his eyes as he grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder, before she could let out a shriek.

She screamed when Logan turned on the freezing water planting her in the tub. Desperately she tried to escape but the now wet sheet was tangling around her legs. He took pity on her when she started chattering her teeth.

"Iii-hhhaaatte yyyou!" she quivered, when he pulled her icy body out of the tub, untying the sheet with a smirk.

"That's for insulting my masculinity, you little devil," Logan laughed, not too worried about her angry facial expression, pulling her into the steaming shower.

She would have crawled into the showerhead if that would have been humanly possible. The hot water pouring down on her, warming her skin.

She turned around sticking her finger in his chest ready to eat him alive when he uttered 4 little words carrying the weight of 4 elephants.

"Move in with me..." He said.

"What?" Rory asked, thinking the shower distorted his words.

"Move in with me. Here."

"But…" she put her finger down.

"Why cant you just say yes or no for once?" he laughed.

"Well it's a big step."

"Rory, you are here all the time as it is. You don't like your place. I don't like your place…"

"You don't like my place?"

He let out another laugh.

"I love you in your place. I'm not too keen on your place itself."

She blushed, a smile creeping up her lips, her anger forgotten. That phrase still made her so weak at the knees as if he had said it for the first time.

"What?"

"Nothing…" She kissed him.

"So will you at least think about it?"

"I'll think about it." She smiled.

"Good. Turn around." She did as she was told and closed her eyes as his hands rubbed her back and neck loosening the rigid muscles.

"Logan?"

"Mhm."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For last night, for the necklace, for pulling me out of my grandparents dinner…you do know that whole of Hartford now knows that you are my boyfriend?"

"I don't care."

"Thank you for loving me." She finished softly.

He turned her around catching her lips with his, knocking her off balance. She slipped and his grip tightened around her, preventing her to hit the wall. They pulled apart only when suffocation became a real hazard. Her lungs were burning, their cry for air almost deafening.

"You.. are… going to… kill… me," she panted.

"Only if you are not going to kill me first." He huffed with a laugh.

"Thank God I am a non-smoker." Rory mumbled leaning her head against the wall, her heartbeat slowing down little by little.

"You know you should train athletes with those kisses. Divers and mountaineers and…"

"Rory?"

"… marathon runners…" she rambled on.

"Rory." He moved his head towards hers.

" ..and…no, no, please, take pity on…" she begged, but got cut off by what she only could describe as the perfect kiss. It was tentative, soft and sweet; long enough to give her a tingling tummy sensation, but short enough to leave her wanting for more. She whimpered at the loss of touch when he moved away, leaning his forehead against hers, eyes closed. They stood that way for it seemed forever. Eyes shut, foreheads leaned against each other, the shower raining down on them, Logan's arms detaining her rooted in that spot. Not that she would have moved otherwise. She was floating, his taste still teasing her lips.

"That was…a 10." She breathed eventually, eyes still closed.

"On the Richter scale?" Logan asked.

"No, that was the kiss before this one. This one was perfect…"

She opened her eyes and looked right into his arrogant, assured smirk, earning him a smack.

"God! You are such a…" Rory exclaimed.

"Perfect kisser?" he asked snickering.

"Arrogant ass!"

Now he roared with laughter, still imprisoning her. She huffed trying to get out.

"I might be an arrogant ass, Ace, but you love me."

She scoffed finally sliding her way out and leaving the shower.

"Fix me a cup of coffee too?!" He yelled after her.

"I'll fix you a cup…of arsenic!" she retorted leaving the bathroom. Logan chuckled closing his eyes again and letting the hot water untie his body. Life was looking pretty good now- he groaned when turning his sore neck- but no more living room picnics.

* * *

He watched her sitting on a barstool and reading the paper. She was wearing skinny jeans and a white woolen turtleneck hugging her curves. Her damp hair was held back by a pair of hair sticks. And he could imagine her sitting there everyday, in **their **kitchen, reading **their **paper, drinking coffee out of **their **mugs. He put a hand on her back and placed a kiss on her temple. 

"I've come to redeem myself."

"I resent you at the moment." Was her reply, before she turned the page.

"Come on…I'm really really sorry that I put you in that cold tub…and that I acknowledged the fact that I am the best kisser you've come across."

She shot him a look.

"You just can't help it, can you now."

"You still love me," he smirked and she scoffed.

"But to ease your pretty little mind, you are the best kisser I've come across as well. And I love you." He paused. "I love everything about you. Especially how you slurp noodle soup through your front teeth." She couldn't help it, a snicker escaped her lips.

"Rory?"

"Mhm."

"I meant what I said. About you moving in here."

She opened her mouth to respond.

"Don't say anything. Just think about it. Make a pro/con-list, ask a fortune teller…"

She smiled, filling a mug and slid it to him.

"Ok."

"Ok." He gave her a smile back, before suddenly snatching the paper from her.

"Hey! I was reading that!"

"You snooze, you lose." Was his response.

"I am so not sharing my strawberry jam bagel." She sulked. On the inside on other hand she was floating on clouds; Big, fluffy, soft, pink clouds. Life was perfect. Life was pink.

**TBC.**


	15. Homecomings I

**AN:**** So I know it took me a while but I got struck by a severe case of writers block. And then once I started I couldn't really stop and it kept going and going and going and I still wasn't satisfied. In the end I had to cut the chapter in two haha… So you'll be getting chapter 16 soon (although I have to stop making promises. Every time I do I either get writers block or life catches up with me. Lol) Chaos chaos chaos. I hope you like it. Nothing really happens in this chapter so sorry for that but it was fun to write (once it came lol). So in closing I thank you all for the wonderful (and abundant) reviews! You guys rock!!!! Well I'll be shutting up now haha. Please read and REVIEW!!!!!! **

**Disclaimer**Don't own Gilmore Girls. If I did it most certainly wouldn't end this way!!! (It wouldn't be ending at all lol, but when it would it wouldn't be as depressing!!!)

_**Chapter 15 **__**Homecomings I **_

"His wife didn't lose it!" Rory gasped. They had been arguing about the reason for Hemingway's lost book for good half an hour now.

"Yes, she did. Women…" Logan sighed changing lanes and taking the exit to Hartford.

"Oh my God!" Rory shrieked. "You are lucky you are driving, mister, otherwise I would so punch your daylights out."

He laughed.

"Punch my daylights out? My, my, Rory Gilmore has a vicious gene."

"You are so obnoxious today." She scoffed. "And Hemingway's wife didn't lose his book!" It seemed the guy had made it his mission to get a rise out of her.

"Yup that woman deprived us of a masterpiece."

"It probably was crap, if not she wouldn't have lost it."

"So you admit it!"

"NO! I'm willing to bet my…my…" Her eyes filled with a wicked gleam, "I'm willing to bet your sorry butt on it."

"I feel cheap and sad and unloved." he wiped away a fake tear. Rory rolled her eyes and hit his leg as they drove through the street, mansions popping out from behind the hedges as mushrooms after rainfall. He caught her hand in his, but soon let go to shift gears.

"See?" Rory bounced, "that is why an automatic car is more romantic. You can hold hands."

"An automatic is for women."

Rory turned her eyes to heaven. He was impossible.

"I'm involved with a sexist. What are you? The incarnation of Aristotle?"

Logan grinned and parked the car on the street one house away. Rory let out a laugh.

"Scardycat."

"Who? Me?"

"Yes, you."

"It's you whom I'm sparing." He said looking at her.

"And how is that?" she grinned.

"Well…did your grandparent's know that you are sleeping with me?"

Her jaw dropped._ Did they know?_

"Of course they didn't know! They still don't know! They will NEVER know! I'll be married with 2.3 kids and they still won't know!" she rambled the idea of her grandparents knowing that she was having sex was giving her a headache.

"Ace…"

"There is no sex in the Gilmore house! If I even think the word, the priest is standing on the porch the next day… They will NEVER know, do you hear me??? If they ask you and me are are…knitting."

Logan furrowed his eyebrows.

"Knitting?"

"Yes, knitting or something else non-sexual."

"Knitting…"

"Logan—" she whined.

He kissed her lips.

"Stop freaking out."

"I'm not…" she pouted.

"Yes, you are." Another kiss. "And you are very cute when you do so, but mind the blood pressure."

"What?"

He didn't answer, simply smirked and captured her lips with his, tracing her bottom lip with his tongue. Rory drew him closer and opened her mouth to welcome his.

"Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss," he smiled against her lips. She chuckled at the line; he was a walking quote book. She wondered sometimes what he would do if he really had the choice. Although he didn't seem that interested, he loved English, he loved to write and he had the same unsaturated hunger for books she had. And she knew he wrote more than just articles, but he had never let her read. There tongues met and she couldn't help but wonder how long this pink fluffy cloud they were on would prevail.

"What's on your mind?" he asked, nuzzling her nose.

She smiled, biting her lip.

"I was just wondering how it would be to kiss Hemingway."

"You are horrible you know that?"

"I do." She kissed him soundly once more and opened the car door.

He opened the trunk for her from inside and let the window down. As expected she came to the window.

"A cheeseburger and extra large fries please."

"Do you want a kiss with that?" Rory grinned leaning in.

She loved the way his eyes lit up with a smile as she kissed his cheek.

"When are you getting back? Monday?"

"Yeah. Tuesday maybe. Not sure. I'll call you."

She nodded.

"Thank you for last night." She said leaning again to kiss him once more.

"I think we are making your grandparents' neighbours sick…" Logan grinned.

"Why?"

"Because of all the…" he kissed her finishing the sentence, "And you're welcome. Thank you too."

Rory smiled wiping a stray eyelash away from his cheek.

"Bye."

"Bye, have fun." He winked.

Rory watched as the black SUV drove down the street and picked up her overnight bag. With a sigh she started walking towards her grandparent's house.

"Rory! You weren't just going to leave, were you?" Emily Gilmore chimed coming her way as she put her bag in the back of her car. Rory sighed and forced a smile.

"No, grandma, of course not. I was just putting the bag in the car."

"Ah well dear, come on in. Have some tea."

"I…mom…we…she" she looked at Emily, who was not taking any of it and gave in.

"For a little while then." She sighed.

"Good! So tell me all about that boy and Valentines Day. You do know that he is a Huntzberger. His father is a very important person in the newspaper business." She went on and Rory sighed as the woman was pushing her through the door.

* * *

"Fruit of my loins!" Lorelai exclaimed, making her way down the porch, "What took you so long?!" 

"Grandma…" she said. "I feel weak."

"That much hanky panky yesterday??"

"Ew! MOM! NO!"

Lorelai raised her eyebrows.

"You want me to believe that you didn't reward that boy after he entered the Gestapo headquarters out his own free will?"

Rory blushed.

"HA! Thought so!"

"Can we please not discuss my sex life?" she rolled her eyes. She could talk to her mother about everything but there was a definite censorship when it came to sex.

"Is the boy still able to walk?"

"Oh my God! I'm going back to grandma!"

Lorelai laughed.

"Ok. Ok. Let's go! We have a jam-packed schedule!"

"We do?"

"Yes! Where is your laundry?" the woman bounced.

"I don't have any."

"You don't have any? How is that possible? You always have laundry!" she squinted, "Have you become one of those nudists?"

"Mom?"

"Which would be a good thing, because Kirk, if he gets elected, wants to start a nudist camping. Very lucrative business."

"I haven't been here for too long…" Rory gaped at her mother. This town had reached a new height of insanity. "And to answer your question; I did my laundry at Logan's."

"I'm becoming obsolete." Lorelai pouted. "At first you came home because you loved me…then because you had to do laundry **somewhere** and now…"

"Mom, stop it. Me sparing you the stinky socks doesn't make you obsolete."

"Fine…Let's go. First stop Luke's. We are already behind schedule!"

"What schedule?!" Rory inquired once more trying to keep up.

* * *

"Rory! How are you?" Luke greeted as both women entered the diner, the bell above the door cheerfully announcing their arrival. "Haven't seen you in ages." 

"Hey, Luke." Rory smirked, "I'm good. You?"

"Oh you know-" he suddenly stopped, his nostrils flared and it seemed as if steam was escaping his ears.

"Taylor!" he yelled. The whole diner fixed their eyes on the window separating Luke's and the Soda Shoppe where Taylor was hanging up campaign posters.

"Get them down!" he roared.

Taylor motioned that he couldn't hear him and resumed what he was doing, half the window now covered in Taylor's portraits. Luke, red with fury jumped over the counter and stomped towards the door, the bell now dangling in a state of panic, as the man made his way to his neighbour. Taylor scurried to the door locking it and threatening to call the police.

Rory unbuttoned her coat and sat down next to her mother who was attentively watching the show.

"I really should visit more often," she snickered.

"You should—" Lorelai started when Luke now re-entered the diner carrying a bunch of boards and a hammer, dropping them in front of the window murmuring. He took one and started hammering it to the window frame.

On the other side of the window an incensed Taylor was knocking on it.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Luke yelled and resumed hammering.

"I love Stars Hollow." Rory sighed.

Lorelai stood up and got the coffeepot.

"Hey!" Luke exclaimed, ceasing his hammering, "Stay away from the counter!"

"But you –" Lorelai started defending her actions.

"No! Your place there," he pointed at the table Rory was occupying, " My place there!"

Lorelai pouted.

"I need my coffee, coffee-man!"

"Then you wait till Cesar or me give you coffee."

Rory watched the exchange between the two and couldn't help but feel that something had changed. The way Luke eyed her mother, and the way she looked at him with sparkling eyes. It reminded her of something. She snickered when it hit her. Months and months of sexual tension.

"Ha!" Lorelai plopped back down on her chair and filled her mug passing the coffeepot to Rory.

"Ooh! What is that? New bling bling?"

Rory looked down at her locket pendant, and smiled.

"I got it yesterday."

Lorelai smiled.

"Tell me all about it!"

"We had a living room picnic. It was really nice. And he gave me this necklace."

Lorelai leaned in and fingered the beautifully engraved locker.

"He said he loved me."

"Aw…he did. I'm happy for you, kid. Although him showing up at the Gilmore's said enough, don't you think?"

"Yeah. If I look back…lots of little things did."

"So wow. Big night."

"Even bigger morning." She mumbled.

"How? He asked you to marry him?" Lorelai laughed .

"Not exactly…he asked me to move in with him."

"I'm sorry LUKE HAMMERING makes it impossible to hear." She shouted, "Did you say move in?"

"Uhu."

"Big indeed. Are you?"

Rory looked down. A part of her wanted to scream yes. Another was afraid that it would backfire. They hadn't been together together for all that long and now they finally got in this nice slumber… Would them moving in together be a step too many? It had been a rollercoaster ride since that day in New York not too long ago and one thing she didn't want. She didn't want the ride to be over in mere seconds. She wanted it to be a Ferris wheel stuck on its highest point.

"I don't know yet," she smiled, "I'm still buzzing from his I love you and then this on top…it's like there is so much whipped cream on this cupcake that I'm afraid it's going to fall off if I move."

Lorelai gave her a smile.

"I wish I could help you, kid."

"I wish you could." She sipped from her coffee. "So tell me more about that schedule of yours."

"Well… today we have the voting. We are after all proud Stars Hollow citizens, then we have dinner at Sookie's, I thought we could rent movies before the voting, but since we are behind, we will do that after dinner… Then you go to Doose's, I go to get the movies, we meet at Luke's for a burger. Then it's Godfather I, Lord of the Rings II, and Bring it On III."

"There is a Bring it on III?"

"Yes there is. Don't interrupt mommy."

"Then tomorrow: Who won the elections? Exciting, exciting!!! We have a quick lunch at Al's Pancake world, then…manicure, pedicure and every other cure there is. Then… we order in dinner and watch—"

"Glitter II?"

"No." Lorelai demonstratively rolled her eyes, "We watch Sofia die over and over again."

"Oooh…a night well spent." Rory bounced.

"Indeed and then it's bedtime, but not before we have watched at least 5 I love Lucy reruns."

"I like this schedule… Not sure about 'Bring it on III', but –"

"We start out with a masterpiece! Leave the gun, take the cannoli! Then there is something… epic. The one ring to rule them all… And last but not least something to mock." Lorelai explained.

"But we mock Lord of the rings too…" Rory tried to reason.

"Well something to mock even more, then!"

"Ok…so what do we now?"

"We," She pulled out buttons saying Kirk #1 and Kirk for mayor!" are going to vote!"

"Are we really going to vote for Kirk? The thought scares me." Rory asked as they exited the diner and made their way to Patty's dance studio that now was transformed into a voting room.

"VOTE KIRK!" someone yelled and all eyes turned towards a vision in American flag speedos on a pink bike with tassels on the handle bars.

"VOTE KIRK!" Kirk yelled again, ringing the bell to emphasize his point, just barely missing the gazebo and killing a couple bushes.

"No…" Lorelai grinned, "But it's fun to watch Taylor get as red as the red stripes on his red-white striped suit."

"You're evil." Rory snickered.

"No, I'm not, the horns are only there to keep the halo in place."

"No your horns are holding the halo hostage."

Lorelai gasped as they climbed the stairs.

"Are you really my child?"

"Kirk! Kirk!" Taylor ran over the lawn, his puffy cheeks almost purple. "Stop this nonsense at once! Stop it!" He stopped after reaching the gazebo and took a few deep breaths wiping the sweat off his forehead with a hanky.

"I will not! We live in a free country and in a free town! And if the people want nudity, they will get nudity! Lulu!" he looked around, "Lulu?"

"No you can't! I am still the mayor and I say that this has got to stop! This is an honorable community!"

"LALALALALA I can't hear you…" Kirk put his fingers in his ears.

"Oh very mature!" Taylor scolded.

The two women snickered and continued their way into the dance studio.

* * *

Logan dug his hands deeper in his pockets and looked at the cold mansion that seemed to get bigger with every second passed, while he was standing on the driveway. _Home sweet home. _He walked around it and took the servants entrance. 

His childhood home in New York had been big, but it had never resembled a mutation of Buckingham Palace and the Louvre. This house freaked him out. He constantly had the feeling he had to walk around crumbling bread in order to not get lost. His mother had never been too keen on the modern castle kind. He smirked. Neither had his father. He didn't know the man at all. They shared a last name but that was about it. He greeted a maid on his way through the servant quarters.

"Mister Huntzberger, it's been a while since we saw you here."

Logan turned around as a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Mister Saunders, how are you?" A genuine smile tugged at his lips as he greeted the butler. This man had been as big a part of his childhood as his parents. At this point a bigger one.

"I've been well. Thank you."

"Where are the King and Queen?" he asked.

"Mister Huntzberger is on a business trip to Chicago and won't be back till tomorrow. Missis Huntzberger is shopping, sir."

"And –"

"Miss Huntzberger is at a friend's house and will be back before dinner."

Logan smirked. Trust Angus to know everyone's whereabouts.

"Can I offer you a cup of coffee?" he asked.

"Only if you are going to take one too." Logan answered.

Angus' stern face softened as his lips curled into a smile.

"If you insist."

"I do." Logan laughed making his way into the kitchen.

"So how have you been….Logan?" Angus asked putting on the coffee and Logan installed himself at the cooking island.

"I've been…well. Really well."

"You do seem quite cheerful." The middle aged man looked at the blond man sitting not far from where he was standing, and found it hard to believe that it was indeed a man and not the boy he had loved as a son, but one that nonetheless could make him completely crazy. He missed him in the house. And he missed his mother. Libby Huntzberger had been more than an employer; she never treated him as a servant. She was his friend. So much had changed since her death. The house, the lady of the house and even mister Huntzberger, who almost never was there anymore and if he was he was distant, not the Mitchum Huntzberger who told Lena bedtime stories or took Logan sailing.

"Angus! Old age catching up with you?"

Angus raised his eyebrows returning from his trip down memory lane.

"Who are you calling old?"

Logan smirked.

"I was asking about your granddaughter."

"Oh she is doing fine. I saw her last week. Senior year, so she is busy. Beautiful girl and sweet. "

"Is she now?"

Angus furrowed his eyebrows.

"Not for you to mess with!" he warned.

"Relax, Angus," Logan laughed, "I am taken these days."

"Taken? You mean possessed by the Devil and too occupied to chase after girls."

"Very funny. No, I'm taken by a girl… sometimes I do think she's the devil." He mumbled the last with a chuckle, accepting the mug of coffee.

"A girl you say. One?"

"Yes, one." He laughed, "It's hard to keep up with this one."

Angus installed himself at the cooking island as well.

"I knew you would find your match sooner or later. Who is your lady?"

Logan smelled the coffee and smirked.

"She is beautiful, smart, slightly crazed and she loves me." That statement almost came out with surprise.

"She is sweet, she is the sweetest person I know." He then smiled.

"Sweet?" Angus squinted, "I would call her a Saint if she is willing to put up with your sorry butt."

"I missed you too, Angus." Logan laughed. Just then the door swung open and two laughing girls stumbled in.

Both Logan and Angus raised their eyebrows.

"Hi," Lena said wiping the tears out of her eyes. Logan looked at her flushed face and steered his gaze to the girl standing next to her.

"Hey." She said draping her long red hair over her shoulder letting her eyes run over him, "I'm Melissa."

"Yeah, this is Melissa." Lena bounced, "Mel, this is my brother Logan."

Melissa bit her lip with a smile.

"Hey…" Logan greeted, his eyebrows still raised. Was she trying to pull off sexy here? "What have you two been up to?"

"Nothing really. You know we hung out. Glad you came." Lena smiled.

"So what do you want to do now I've graced you with my presence?" he asked finishing his coffee.

"We kind of wanted to go out." Lena bit her lip.

"Go out where?"

"Just…out."

"Lena, are we talking forged ID's here?" he asked.

"Oh come on! As if you haven't done that?! We want to go to the Brickyard café." she exclaimed.

"Brickyard? I—That is besides the point."

"Logan!"

"No! Seriously! Go see the new Winnie-the-Pooh movie or paint each others whatever."

"Logan… we are not 8 anymore."

He sighed. No, she wasn't, but somehow he was still stuck in the baby sister phase.

"Fine then I'm coming with you."

"I don't need a babysitter! I can't see Conner with my brother tailing behind me."

"HahÁ! So we are talking boyfriends here. You two are back together?" Almost an evil grin spread over his face.

"Loohooogan!" Lena whined. "Yes we are."

"Nononono… You most certainly need a chaperone." He laughed.

"What? No! Logan that's not nice!"

"Whoever said I was nice?" he stuck his tongue at her, "Besides, the lovely Melissa here will need some company."

The girl started beaming so brightly, that it seemed as if she had transformed into a 100 Watt light bulb. Angus shook his head lightly. Kids.

"Dinner is at 7. Logan, I'll see to it that your room is ready. Will Miss Melissa be staying over?"

"Yes she will."

"I'll make the arrangements."

"Thanks, Angus." Lena smiled, "And you," she pointed at Logan, "I'm not so fond of at the moment."

"You love me!" Logan laughed exciting the kitchen. Now he was here he could as well take a swim in the large indoor pool.

He dove in, gliding as far as possible in a streamline position before resurfacing and wiped his eyes. Once his vision was restored he noticed Melissa sitting on one of the chairs, clad in a white bikini.

"Hey," she said. That girl kept amazing him with her vocabulary.

"Hey."

"So you go to Yale?"

"According to rumours I do."

"Cool."

_Oh for heavens sake. _

"Are you coming in or are you going to keep staring at me?" he smirked, causing her to change 10 shades of red.

"I'm coming in," she then replied. She was beautiful no doubts there. Long red hair, big eyes, a slim body. Finn would defiantly need a drool bucket. By far not his type though. He smirked, not Ace.

"Me too!" Lena screamed hitting the water like a blue whale.

"Classy." Logan laughed evading Melissa who decided that the blue whale needed company. Lena let herself float on her back

"So how is Rory?"

* * *

"I think the shrimp are rebelling." Rory rubbed her belly walking down the lit Stars Hallow streets in the direction of Luke's diner. Lorelai opened her mouth to respond but slipped just in time clutching a lamp post and barely keeping her poise. 

"I'm so the Next Pussycat Doll," she stated and let out a burp.

"Oh yes, very graceful" Rory rolled her eyes suppressing a belch herself.

"Sookie outdid herself with those outback steakhouse coconut shrimp." Lorelai burbled as the two women resumed their journey," I think we have salmonella poisoning."

"You can't get that from shrimp."

"Why not?"

"Because a shrimp is not a chicken."

"So?"

"It's also not an uncooked mammal."

"Again…So?"

"I need to stop." Rory took in a deep breath, willing the nausea away.

"Oh oh! Do we need to run?" Lorelai rubbed her daughters back.

"No. No. Definitely no running. Don't want to make the rebelling coconut shrimp seasick. Oof. I think it passed."

They started moving again.

"I wonder what the remedy for salmonella poisoning is." Lorelai mused.

"It's not salmonella!"

"Why not?" Rory rolled her eyes.

"Because a shrimp is not a chicken, mammal or vegetable!"

"Says who?!"

"A whole entourage of established scientists."

"And who says we have to listen to them?"

"**They **do." At that she clasped a hand over her mouth and frantically looked around her. It was the pavement in front of the knitting store that got the honours and Lorelai held her hair as she was sick.

"I really really don't feel good." She said meekly wiping her mouth with a tissue, "And I threw up in the middle of Stars Hollow! That's just…" Another wave of nausea hit her and she doubled over once again.

"…disgusting." She finished, "I want to go home."

"Yes… I think Bring it on III is not going to happen tonight." Lorelai sighed slinging an arm over Rory's waist and slowly guiding her down the street.

"Don't make me more sick than I already am, please."

"Are you two finally ready?" Logan yelled, glancing at the clock, "What can take you two so long! Michelangelo did the Sistine Chapel faster than you two your face!"

"Coming!" a muffled response reached him. The 10th one. He sighed, pulling out his phone and punching some numbers.

"_Hello?"_ a weak voice filled his ear.

"Ace? What happened to you?" he furrowed his eyebrows, worrying a little.

"_Outback steakhouse coconut shrimp."_

"Excuse me?"

"_The revenge of the Shrimp__ on Rory Gilmore III instead of Bring it on III."_

Now he was completely lost.

"Are you drunk?"

"_I wish I was. Food poisoning I think."_

"Seafood?"

"_Yup. I __ate the cockroaches of the sea and this is my castigation. I've been hugging the toilet for hours now. Oh and when you do come to Stars Hollow some day, remind me not to take you past the knitting store."_

He chuckled.

"Do I want to know?"

"_No."_

"What about Lorelai?"

"_She is hugging the toilet now. We take turns. More efficient that way."_

"Do you want me to come? If you are both sick…"

"_No. No. This is officially a leprosy hospital. Stay away. Besides Luke is here."_

"Poor thing. I wish I could de-shrimp you."

"_Could you make sure that my name is spelled right__ on my epitaph?"_

"Here lays the love of my life. Shrimp took her life too soon."

It was quiet on the other side for a little while. He realised what he had said and cleared his throat.

"R.I.P. will do too."

A faint chuckle.

"_Just don't let Finn do it_..._What are you up to tonight?_"

"I'm supposed to go out with the Powerpuffgirls here…but they are reconstructing their faces. It can't be any other way…they've been grooming for over 2 hours now! Seriously how much time does it take to put on mascara?"

_"Logan? You will never understand the psyche of women. You might know how to get in their pants, but you won't get in their heads, so simply reconcile with it. There is – Oh God…"_ he heard rustling and frantic footsteps.

"Ror? Are you there?"

Silence. He sighed waiting for her to come back.

_"Logan?"_

"Lorelai?" he straightened up unconsciously.

_"Rory is otherwise occupied at the moment ."_

"Man, you got it good, didn't you."

_"That's shrimp for you."_

"Well I guess I'll call back later. Will you tell her that?"

_"Noted."_

"Get well soon. Both of you."

_"Thanks."_

He hung up just as 2 girls in high heels and sparkly tops finally excited the room. Logan raised his eyebrows.

"2 plus hours and this is what the result is? Where are your skirts?"

Lena rolled her eyes.  
"This is called a mini, Logan. And before you even open your mouth: you love minis."

He furrowed his eyebrows almost pouting.  
"That's a belt…" he mumbled and followed the 2 down the stairs.

* * *

"Ugh…I'm dying." Rory plopped down on the bed again and searched for her phone. 

"He hung up." Lorelai said leaning against the doorframe and smirked at her daughters pout.

"He said he didn't want to kiss you ever again and that you shouldn't call him."

"Mooom."

"Fine fine…he said he would call back later."

"Girls!" Luke shouted, "I have chicken soup for you!"

"Come on, fruit loin." She reached out, "Lets get pampered."

Rory sighed getting up and following Lorelai into the kitchen.

"If you insist…. You know…technically, we could get Salmonella poisoning from chicken soup…"

"I so didn't need to hear that."

"Hey at least it's not shrimp soup." Rory offered sitting down at the kitchen table as Luke filled their bowls with steaming soup, "Seriously, what a homecoming..."

"I hear ya sister…"

**TBC**


	16. Homecomings II

**Disclaimer: **Do not own Gilmore Girls.

**AN: Hello everybody, finally here the next instalment. I know I suck. Please don't hate me. Hate my school; hate my friends, but not me. Lol. It is summer vacation though and technically I have the time to write so I'll try to do just that. Next week I'm leaving and will be internet-less for about 3 weeks (cry!)…so chances of an update in those 3 weeks are slim…but I will try to write as much as possible so that I have something to update when I can get internet-access :). Also I will try to put update info on my profile. So that you - if you chose so- can see when my next update is. It also a good motivation since I always try my best to meet deadlines lol. Anyway. Here is the second homecomings-chapter. Hope you like it! Please please review!!!!!! **

_**Chapter **__**16 Homecomings II **_

_We need to talk. _That's how all the pleasant conversations with Mitchum Huntzberger started. And usually when it had to do with him those conversations meant nothing good. Logan looked over the rim of his newspaper and frowned. They were sitting at a breakfast table set up in the dining room, a rarity in itself. Mitchum actually home for one and eating breakfast with his family. An extraterrestrial event, indeed.

"We do? I was actually enjoying the peace and quiet." The coffee cup hitting its saucer echoed through the room in disapproval of that comment.

"I think we need to work on that project, Mel." Lena said getting up. She was not too fond of the 'we need to talk-conversations' between her brother and father. It always turned ugly and they were both unbearable in the remains of the day. Logan watched his sister and her friend leave silently and resumed reading.

"I talked to your study adviser." Mitchum started, "According to him, you could have been done by last September if you really wanted to. Care to explain to me why you are still wasting my time?"

Logan sighed, putting down the paper and standing up.

"SIT DOWN!" Mitchum barked. "I am not going to sit here and watch you waist your future. Not anymore! You are going to finish school this year. No more procrastinating. Get off your damn ass!"

Logan rolled his eyes. He was aware that that was a lame reaction, but it was the only thing he could summon himself to do.

"No! Look at me! This is the last wasted year. There is a paper in L.A. we are planning on taking over in June. I want you there."

Logan scoffed.

"L.A.?"

"Yes, L.A.. But if you are going to keep this up, boy, I am going to send you to Alaska. I swear to God, I will make your life miserable if you are not going to pull your act together this minute."

"You are going to make my life miserable?" Logan let out a pained laugh, "I'm not sure you can make me more miserable than I already am. But hey, good luck."

"You have no idea what miserable is! You have such a good life that you don't know what to do with yourself anymore. Well no more! Are we clear?!"

Logan looked at the furious man in front of him and wished that he could throw it out. His frustrations, his anger. He wished that he could just walk away. Give him the finger and walk away, not turning back.

"Yes." He then muttered.

"I can't hear you."

"Yes." He said louder.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, I will finish school, sir." He replied through gritted teeth.

"Glad we are clear." Mitchum nodded getting up and left the room.

"I hate you." Logan whispered, his gaze fixed on his fathers back. It was barely audible but for a split second he could have sworn Mitchum's steady pace faltered before picking up again as he disappeared out of sight.

* * *

Rory snuggled deeper in her covers, savouring the warmth and trying to ban the feeling that something or someone was stroking her nose out. Her eyes fluttered open and she was surprised to see a pair of chocolate ones staring back. 

"Hi," Logan smiled, propping his head up.

"Hi… What are you doing here?" she answered with a groggy voice and stiffened a yawn.

"Can't I come see how my girlfriend is doing?" he smirked, "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she smiled, "You drove all the way from Hartford?"

"Yep."

"Why?" she asked.

"Lets see," he kissed her jaw, "I think it has to do with the fact that I hate it in Hartford and needed an excuse to get out. There is also the small detail that I love you…but who is counting." Rory suppressed a moan when his lips moved to her ear and grazed her earlobe.

"Logan…" she complained when his hand moved under the covers and found the hem of her pyjama top. He didn't listen running his palm over her stomach, cupping her breast and teasingly brushing his thumb over her nipple.

"Logan!" she tried to dig his hand from under the covers and from under her top, "We…YOU can't do this."

"Why not?" he asked puzzlement dancing on his features.

"Because—" she stopped and let her eyes run over his body, "Oh my God! Why are you naked? Are you crazy?!" she scolded in a loud whisper, "What if my mother comes in!"

"Now why would your mom walk in here?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Why? For the reason that—" She sat up in bed and looked around in absolute confusion. She watched the dust dance in the rays of daylight falling through the large windows onto the hardwood floor. It was strangely beautiful and she gazed into the light. It was Logan's voice that got her out of her trance…followed by her own.

"_Hello, you've reached Rory and Logan. We can't pick up the phone right now, because we're doing something we really enjoy…"_

"_Logan!"_

"_Rory likes doing it up and down..."_

"_Logan!!! Shut up right now!" _

There was a laugh followed by an OW before the message continued.

"_And I __like doing it left to right...reaaal slowly."_

"_I'm going to hit you again!"_

"_OWW! Leave a message, and when we're done brushing our teeth we'll get back to you. Get your head out of the gutter, missy! Oh and Finn if this is you… you left your pants here!"_

The beep was preceded by some rummaging, a scream and hysteric laughter.

"_Hey. It's Seth. I can't reach you on your cell, Huntzberger. Where are you?__ Did Rory kill you for this machine message? Anyway we still need to go over the last details for…."_

She turned to face him.

"What was that?"

"Our answering machine message?"

She raised her eyebrows and Logan raised his hands in surrender.

"I know. I know. I said I would change it. I haven't gotten to it. And you have to admit …it's funny. Besides I wanted to do it together and we have been missing each other these past few days." He smirked.

She simply gaped at him trying to grasp what in the name of God he was talking about.

"Come on don't look at me like that."

"What?" She felt a headache coming up.

"You are looking at me like the time that Finn toilet papered the kitchen…and that wasn't even my fault."

A red armchair caught her eye. "What is my chair doing here?"

"You wanted it there. It's been standing there for almost a year…You look funny."

"We are living together?"

"I know shocking…" He smirked and got out of the bed putting on a pair of sweatpants.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

He leaned over kissing her soundly on the lips.

"To get the answering machine…"

Rory sighed letting herself fall back in the pillows and rolled on to Logan's side of the bed to reach for the framed picture standing there, when she hit the ground with a loud thud.

"Ow…" Rory rubbed her butt and took in her surroundings. Her old room, her old house. This was the oddest dream she had had in a while. Living with Logan. It seemed as if the question was even hunting her in her dreams. She climbed back onto the bed and sighed, trying to understand whether it had been a good dream or a bad one. She then smiled. She could almost see Finn papering the kitchen, them fighting over the answering machine, waking up together every morning before her as if it were vivid memories instead of a lucid dream.

* * *

"Are you ok?" Lena asked leaning against the doorpost of Logan's bedroom. 

"I'm fine," he grumbled not looking up from the TV-screen he had his eyes fixed on.

"What are you watching?"

"The Office."

"Well for a show that funny, you are not doing much laughing," she said coming closer.

"He is gone. Shira is at her spa. I actually think she is afraid of you." Lena chuckled, "And Melissa just left. It's just you and me…and Twinkies!" She waved around with a pack.

She chuckled when his eyes lit up briefly. It wasn't much but it was something. He still wasn't making much attempt to lighten up.

"Come on… You know you want to. You can't say no to the quintessential junk food. You want me to deep-fry them?"

He made a face.

"Give me my Twinkies! Not battered if possible."

"The Twinkies come with my company so move your ass."

"That's not how I raised you!" he gasped moving to the side and letting her jump on the bed.

"I wonder what happened, besides the fact that ….you didn't raise me."

"Oh yeah…I keep mixing things up. It was the hellhound of Hades that did."

"Remember I have the Twinkies and I'm not afraid to use them."

"Just hand them over and shut up."

"Just hand them over and shut up." She mimicked him and threw the junk food in his lap, turning up the volume.

"_Bros before hoes. Why? Because your bros are always there for you. They got your back after your ho rips your heart out for no good reason. And you were nothing but great to your ho, and you told her that she was the only ho for you. And that she was better than all the other hoes in the world. And then suddenly...she's not yo' ho no mo"_

Logan grinned, took a bite and looked at his baby sister who was laughing while shoving a Twinkie in her mouth.

"I love Michael!" she snickered looking at him, "What?"

"Thank you," he said, "And I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I try to not think about this place when I'm not here…overlooking the fact that you are here as well."

"You just be grumpy," Lena smiled, acknowledging his thank you and his apology and ruffled through his hair, causing him to growl.

"I am"

"Good. Throw a nice frown in there." She teased.

"Shut up. I'm missing half the episode."

* * *

"I'm going to do it." Rory stated walking into the kitchen and pouring herself a mug of coffee. Lorelai looked up from the Stars Hollow gazette. 

"You are going to swim the English Channel? Climb Mount Everest? Enlist in the US army?"

"Move in with Logan." Rory said with a radiant smile.

"Wow. Are you sure? It's a big step. Shouldn't you get to know each other better?"

"I want to leave a message on the answering machine together and I want Finn to toilet paper our kitchen. I want to read our paper and sit on our couch and I want… I want to be with him."

Lorelai forced a smile.

"Aren't you moving too fast, Rory?"

"Yesterday you said nothing. You said it was my decision. Don't do this."

"It is your decision and I know you love him—"

"And he loves me. And **he** asked **me**. It's…for the first time he is the one making a step in this relationship. I made the first move, I said that I loved him first, I wanted commitment and now he says he wants to live with me. By doing this for Valentines day and saying he loves me he called the bet and with asking me to move in he raised it."

Lorelai was silent for a little while. She had never heard Rory talk this way about Dean or Jess. She knew Logan loved Rory. She had seen it during their dinner together and him showing up at the Gilmore's was merely a confirmation, but she also knew Logan was not in his element in this one. He didn't have any history of prior long term relationships.

"It's a jump, a risk. But it's okay as long as he is holding my hand. You should jump too. "

"What?"

"With Luke?"

Lorelai blinked a few times.

"I'm not blind you know." Rory smirked grabbing her phone from the counter and punching some numbers.

"Colin? Oh hey, Finn. No, earth is not invaded by an armada of flesh eating robots, but I do need your help…"

* * *

Rory let herself fall on the bed. It was 3 in the morning. The apartment was a complete mess. She was beat. Moving was one thing. Moving within a day was another. Add Colin and Finn in the mix and you got yourself a circus that was out of proportions. She needed to clean up this place, before Logan came home, but first –she rolled up in a little ball on a not cluttered spot on the bed- she needed to close her eyes for just a minute.

* * *

"Logan? Logan!" 

Logan flinched at the sound of his name coming out his father's mouth. Somehow that man was incapable of saying something lovingly…or normally for that matter. It was always, a growl, a shout.

"Logan!" The door flung open, revealing a frowning Mitchum, "Didn't you hear me?"

"I think they heard you on the west-coast."

"Guess who I ran into this afternoon at the club."

Logan raised his eyebrows turning off the TV.

"Was it Adolf Hitler?" he mumbled.

"What was that?" Mitchum boomed.

"I said I have no idea."

"Sure you did," Mitchum glared, "I talked with Richard Gilmore. Apparently you are dating his granddaughter."

"Apparently."

"And when were you going to share this? Richard is a friend of mine! I will not have you screw that girl!" He pointed his index finger at him.

"Who says I'm screwing her," Logan shouted getting of the bed, "Is it so hard to believe that I care about a girl?"

"I know you, Logan. The only person you care about is yourself. You treat everyone else like shit! You bring tramps to functions and screw society girls, leaving it up to me to mend the damage, just to get at me. You have no respect for them and no respect for me! Don't you start about caring!"

Logan smirked bitterly. Talk about a paradox. If there was one person that was completely self-absorbed it was Mitchum Huntzberger. Even he was a part of his grand plan of his Mitchum-topia. And if one of the particles of his universe didn't act exactly as mighty Huntzberger commanded earth shook with thunder.

"Don't flatter yourself. You have a very high opinion of yourself to think that the women I see have anything to do with you. I don't have to listen to this." He said walking past him, but stopped.

"For your information…the one treating everyone like shit is you. Remember the 'tramp' I brought to moms benefit?"

Mitchum raised his eyebrows.

"Meet Lorelai Leigh Gilmore… and as far as respect is concerned. I have more respect for her little pinkie on any given moment of the day than I will have for you in a lifetime. He walked away, anger burning in his veins. He knocked on Lena's door and opened it not waiting for an answer.

"Hey!" she yelled hoisting up her school uniform again, "I didn't say 'come in'!"

"I'm leaving," he simply said turning around, ready to close the door again.

"What? Wait! What about our movie?"

"I'm sorry, Lena, but I have had quite the amount of Mitchum for one day. Raincheck, okay?"

"But—" She scurried after him.

"Lena, do you want me to end up in the psychiatric ward?"

"No…"

"Then I really need to get out of this house."

"Then let's get out of this house. We can grab a bite and catch a movie in town."

Logan sighed and faced her. She was standing in front of him her big brown eyes on full Bambi-mode. How he hated that lovable trait she had.

"Pleaaaase?"

Logan inhaled, slumping his shoulders.  
"You have 5 minutes."

"Yay," she made a little jump and ran back to her room. He pulled out his phone while making his way through the foyer.

"Everything all right?" Angus put down the vase he was currently dusting and eyed Logan.

"Just as usual, Angus. I will be seeing you. Take care." He answered, his eyes never leaving the door. He burst outside and took a deep breath feeling his rage going down as the cold wind hit him in the face, before putting his phone to his ear.

* * *

Where was it? Where was it? Still overcome with sleep she tried to find her phone. She was lifting clothes, books and pillows.  
"Hello?" she panted once she had found the little thing. 

"_Hey.__ Did I interrupt something?" _Logan's voice filled her ear.

"Just my nap," she yawned, "what time is it?"

"_Fourish." _

"Fourish?! Please tell me fourish in the morning!"

"_Where are you, Ace? In a bunker? Look outside…the sun is shining." _

She looked through the window. Indeed it was. How could she have slept for 13 hours? Was that even humanly possible?

"_Ace?" _

I'm here."

"_I'm coming home tonight. What do you say we have dinner out?" _

_Tonight?! _He couldn't come back tonight! Quickly she glanced around the bedroom or what was visible of it from underneath the clutter

"No!"

"_No?" _

"I mean. Why?"

"_Because Mitchum Huntzberger a.k.a. the devils incarnate is driving me up the walls here. That's why." _

_I need coffee, _she thought, _lots and lots of coffee. _

"Ok."

"_I'm going to catch a movie with Lena and then head back to New Haven. So is eight ok?" _

4 hours; so much to do and he was going to notice. It was hard to notice that something was different when you were lying on the floor face down because you just tripped over a box -she craned her neck to peek into the hall- or 5.

"Ehm…Ok."

"_Are you okay? How are you feeling by the way? Sorry. It slipped my mind..." _

"I'm good. Better. I don't want to eat shrimp for the rest of this century though."

"_I'll keep that in mind." _Logan chuckled, "_Hey, I have to go. You have some coffee. You sound like you need it." _He hesitated before adding, _"You know that I really love you, right?" _

Rory furrowed her eyebrows.  
"I do…"

"_Good," _he breathed out, _"Bye, Ace. I'll see you tonight." _

"Bye. And Logan?" She quickly added.

"_Yeah?" _

"I really love you too."

"_That's nice to know." _She could practically see his smirk and smiled too saying goodbye one more time before hanging up. Panic struck immediately. 3 hours and 55 minutes till Logan got home. What was the fastest way to clean up a nuclear disaster?

* * *

He was going home. Finally. Dreamgirls might have been a good movie and he might have enjoyed hanging out with his baby sister, but he wanted nothing more than to go back to Yale, back to New Haven, back to his girl, back home. He turned on the stereo, rummaging through the different stations till he settled for Howard Stern. He glanced at the clock seeing that it was a quarter to 8 and sped up. His attention was once again taken by his vibrating phone. He grabbed it without looking at the caller ID and pressed it against his ear. 

"Hey, Ac…It's you." He grumbled, hearing the infamous 'Logan!' come from the other end.

"_Logan, I need you at the launch party for that new New York magazine next Saturday." _

Logan rolled his eyes and opened his mouth, ready to tell him to go stick it where the sun don't shine, but closed it again, when he added:  
_" And bring Lorelai." _

"Now why would I bring Rory?" he asked, "I have no desire to put her in one room with you again. And why would you want her there anyw—," he stopped. The coward.

"You do realise that whatever respect there was left for you is gone now…gone with the wind. Really classy to invite her just for the fact that the Gilmores are there. You cant be quick enough to insult her in her face, but now she has a last name you cant wait to exploit the fact that she is with me."

"_Business is business. Saturday, 8 pm, the Carlton, Rory." _The line went dead. He didn't even deny it. And he felt the shame for him. He felt ashamed towards Rory. With a sigh he threw the phone on the backseat just as the car in front of him swayed and slipped a huge moose landing half on his windshield as well. He didn't break for the moose but when the taillights of the car before him neared him dangerously neared him, he threw the wheel around and stepped on the breaks. As the ear piercing screech of tires against asphalt echoed into the night, one of them caught the icy slope and the SUV came to a halt against a tree and everything went black.

* * *

Rory glanced at the clock. 8.10 pm. Where was he? It was unlike Logan to be late. Maybe he was stuck in traffic. She dialled his number again…but then too it went straight to voicemail for the second time. The apartment was as good as spotless after 4 hours of slaving and she had even managed to look decent. But her stomach was growling. 

She turned on the TV, carelessly flipping through the channels, watching but not seeing. Something wasn't right.

8.20. still no call, no txt, no smoke signal. She was so focussed on the phone ringing that she almost got a heart attack when it did.

* * *

Logan hit the airbag as if his life depended on it, letting out a frustrated 'This is just fucking great!' while doing so. When the airbag went down, and he was able to breath and see again his hand fumbled with the seatbelt and he had never been happier he had it on. He jerked open the door still ranting and kicked the tree he had currently 'parked' his car against. He didn't care that it was a plant, he didn't care that it was an important component of the natural landscape and played an important role as oxygen producer. He hated that tree more than anything in life. And when his foot painfully collided with the hard material he swore to cut it down even if he had to use scissors. His initial rage gone he turned around and ran up the hill to see if anyone in the other car was hurt. The large animal was lying on the middle of the rood, bleeding and breathing heavily, but still trying to move. He looked into the second car where a woman and a man were still sitting in their seats. The windshield was gone and the woman was hysterically crying about her ruined blouse, frantically trying to rid herself of the tiny pieces of glass of the car door windows that seemed to be everywhere. 

"Are you okay?" he asked.

The man nodded slowly, still dazed from the hit and the woman just kept on sobbing about her blouse.

"Hey…" Logan started, but she didn't seem to recognise his presence at all.

"Hey!" he said louder grabbing her face, "Look at me."

The woman now silently blubbering looked him in the eye like a deer caught in the headlights.

"What's your name?"

"Anna…" She meekly replied.

Logan smirked.

"You are going to be just fine, Anna. Everything still whole?"

"My arm," she started. In the little light that the headlights still provided he could see the strange angle it was in.

_911..phone. _Where was his phone? The car. He ran back, searching that back seat for his phone and finding it under one of the front seats. Grabbing his coat and a flashlight he went up the hill again.

The moose still struggling for breath caught his eye once more and he caught himself thinking of ways how to finish the creature off.

"I just called 911, they will be here shortly," he said.

"I'm Howard," the man introduced himself, trying to move.

"Logan."

"I think I cracked a few ribs."

"You'll be fine… the moose on other hand."

"It's still alive?" Howard asked trying to see the animal.

"It's struggling."

"The trunk," Howard then pointed.

"What?"

"The trunk… I was hunting this weekend in the woods."

In the trunk Logan was met by two hunting rifles. He took out one of them and the box of ammo walking to the moose. His breath was forming little clouds in the frosty air, now sounding like a deep moan. He loaded the gun and looked at the moose once again.

"Now you know," he started, "I really don't want to shoot you." His chest rose with a deep sigh as the moose looked him in the eye.

"I'm sorry, buddy," Logan than said aiming the rifle. The resonance of the gunshot was met by the faint cry of sirens in the distance.

**TBC**

**AN: ****As you noticed… I kind of got caught up in the 'homecoming series' lol so Logan WILL get home the next chapter. Lol :) Don't forget to review:D!**


	17. Leave a message after the beep

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Gilmore Girls.

**AN: I know that Logan shooting the moose was not the fluffiest thing ever and maybe even disturbing. Believe it or not I am a huge animal lover myself and because I am an animal lover I couldn't let the moose suffer. So, I'm sorry if some you found it heartless it was meant as the complete opposite. I've there was a thing called a 'moose-hospital' I really would have sent him there (no fun intended). I have been involved in an animal collision myself (in this case a deer) and I felt so sad for the poor thing that was just laying there and there was nothing I could do. **

**So as I said: I'm sorry. **

**I'm leaving tomorrow and I doubt there will be an update in the following 3 weeks. So here a little treat :) Haha I hope it makes up for those who thought there was too little rogan interaction in the previous chapters. ;) As far the reviews are concerned: thank you! they are what keeps me going:) **

**Chapter 17 **_**Leave a message after the beep **_

_8.20. still no call, no txt, no smoke signal. She was so focused on the phone ringing that she almost got a heart attack when it did almost an hour later. _

"Logan?" she asked sitting so close to the edge of the couch that it wouldn't take much to fall off.

"_Hey, I'm sorry about dinner."_

"Where are you? Everything ok?"

"_Physically I'm fine… Mentally though... The world has gone insane!"_

"What are you talking about?"

"_It all began with me going to Hartford, a place I didn't want to go in the first place. I got yelled at by my father. Apparently I should start packing because I'm moving to California next year oh and did I mention that I am finishing school tomorrow?" _

Rory furrowed her eyebrows, wondering where this rant was going.

"_Then I think it was it for the weekend, but no… this afternoon he barges into my bedroom yelling that I cant screw you! That I should stick to my 'tramps' but keep away from the society girls. This was of course BEFORE I told him that the 'tramp' I brought to moms charity was you…indeed a Gilmore. I was on my way home, because as I said I couldn't take more of that shit and the he calls me yet __**again! **__Now requesting my presence at the launch of a new magazine in the Apple this Saturday…and I should bring you. When I told him that he was a bastard he didn't even twitch! He didn't even deny that the only reason why I should bring you was so that __**he **__could benefit from it!"_

She opened her mouth to respond but he was obviously not done just yet.

"_And if that wasn't enough it has to be the dead of bloody winter with icy slopes, moose and trees! I hate nature!" _He took a deep breath, _" I smashed my car, Rory."_

"You what?! Are you still in one piece?" She shouted as panic overcame her, "Well you are not dead…I can hear that much but where are you and what happened?!"

"_I'm fine. My car and the moose on other hand…"_ He sighed, _"I'm gonna cry, Ace."_

"Where are you? I'm going to pick you up!"

"_You don't have to…don't wait up either. It might be a while before I get home. Damn I'm hungry."_

"But--," she started

"_It's really okay, Ace. I have to go. The tow truck is here."_

She looked at the phone when the dial tone filled her ear and sighed getting up to change in her sweats, the worry still not subsiding. She was going to wait up for him and there was no discussion about it.

* * *

Logan sighed out of relief once he had closed the door of his apartment and got surrounded by the warmth of it. 4 hours ago he was supposed to sit in a nice restaurant with Rory instead of writing a statement on police station…one that he had seen from "the inside" at that. Stupid Mitchum, stupid winter, stupid Hartford, stupid moose! He looked around the living room. On the couch rolled into a little ball, lay Rory while the credits of the Godfather were playing on the background. He would probably never understand her obsession with watching Sophia die. He turned off the TV and crouched next to the couch. She had waited up. He smirked. Or at least made an attempt to do so. 

"Rory…" he moved her shoulder lightly, "Rory."

"Mhm.." was her answer, as she hid her face in the cushions.

"Come on, Ace…time for bed."

"Belgium." She murmured and Logan couldn't hide his smile. He wondered what she was dreaming.

"Rory…wake up a little."

"Uhu…ok." She answered though no intention of getting up was evident. With a sigh he got up and cradled her in his arms, before lifting her. She grunted and buried her head in the crook of his neck, like a kitten that was seeking warmth as he carried her to the bedroom and placed her on the bed. She sighed happily as her body sunk into the soft bedding.

"Hey, do you want to change into your pj's?" he asked.

"Tomorrow." She murmured. He shook his head pulling the comforter over her and dimmed the lights.

"Back to Belgium it is." He whispered, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. Stiffening a yawn he pulled open his underwear drawer and raised his eyebrows when the piece of garment he pulled out was not the boxer short he was aiming for. He turned on the lamp on the dresser and examined his catch. Unless he had forgotten a recent sex change operation, he didn't know what the pink hello kitty thong was doing in his underwear drawer. He pulled out the whole drawer and rummaged through the contents. And with every following one the realization grew that she might have taken him on his offer. Like a kid in a toy store he scrutinized every piece. Some of them he knew, others were new to his eyes. Rory wasn't very extravagant. She was a cotton kind of girl. That was the reason that his eyes grew when he came across a pair of black lace boy shorts. He loved her in her often silly underwear, and he loved her even more naked…but how could she deny him the sight of her in that?! He cleared his throat putting everything back and turned around, taking in her sleeping form. She suddenly sat up, trying to find a way through the curtain of hair in her face.

"You're back." She uttered sleepy.

"Yes I'm back."

"Are you hungry?" she asked stumbling out of bed, "I can make you something."

"I'm good, Ace. One thing is good about a police station: The coffee and the doughnuts."

She walked up to him and ran her hands over his chest, his shoulders, and his arms. He let her pull the sweater he was wearing over his head and closed his eyes at the feel of her warm breath on his skin. Suddenly she poked a finger in his flesh.

"What is that?!"

"Huh?" he opened his eyes and looked at the spot on his side she was pointing at. It was a slight bruise he had Colin and his bony arms to thank for.

"It's a bruise I guess."

"And you said you were okay!" she almost shouted.

"I am…this is a week old."

"What if you have internal bleeding?" she asked scurrying to the phone and dialling a number. He trailed behind her blinking a couple of times.

"Internal what? Rory, who are you calling?"

"Paris," she deadpanned.

"Paris?! Have you gone insane? She **will** give me internal bleeding if you call her at this hour!" he peeled the phone out of her fingers and compelled her to look at him.

"I'm fine, Ace."

She sighed biting her lip and looked him in the eye. He saw the fear and ached that he had worried her.

"I didn't mean to scare you."

"Well you did."

"I'm sorry." He pressed her against his chest, his arms gripping tightly and softly rocked her from side to side till she seemed to relax into his warmth.

"What happened to the moose?" she asked her head pressed against his shoulder.

Logan flinched.

"It…died."

"It died?" she looked up meeting his eyes.

"Yes…"

"It didn't suffer, did it?"

"No…It was dead right away." He was not going to upset her even more by saying that he had shot the animal.

"Poor moose," she sighed.

"Yeah."

"And you… what happened? You were ranting on the phone."

"I had some Mitchum issues. First the school-stuff then the you-stuff."

"The me-stuff?" she looked at him, "The me being a Gilmore?"

"Yes," he sighed, "And he doesn't even know yet you are a Hayden too."

"Well we can always change my name."

"To what? Mary Jones?"

She let out a loud laugh, looked at him and burst into laughter again.

"Okay…I didn't realise I was the next Bob Hope."

"I'm sorry," she drew in a deep breath and fanned her face with her hand, but the snicker won and she started laughing once more.

"I feel like I'm missing something."

"You are…"

"Indulge me. Please, I want to laugh too. I _**need **_to laugh too."

"You wouldn't understand. It's from the Chilton-days. This guy used to call me Mary."

"This guy?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah. Tristan." She laughed, "He reminds me a bit of you actually."

Logan furrowed his eyebrows.

"Should I be worried? Are you obsessed with handsome blond guys giving you nicknames?"

She chuckled.

"Who said anything about blond…or handsome for that matter."

"Well you said he looked like me."

She glared at him and he scoffed.

"Fine. I'm going to bed."

"Aww… did I hurt your feelings?" Rory grinned.

"Yes. After all that happened today you too ripped out my heart."

"I poked your ego, Logan." She shook her head.

"Whatever…" he padded to the bedroom and rolled his eyes in amusement when she grinned.

"Oh and by the way!" he started, "what did you do to my underwear?"

"What do you mean?" She followed him into the bedroom just as he was exciting and they bumped into each other. He twirled her thong around his finger.

"You don't like me in boxers, Ace?" he whispered in her ear.

Determined as she was to say something cheeky back, his presence, his soft low voice, his eyes dark and alive, it all hypnotized her and she could only blush.

"I—"

"You…"

"I—"

"You…"

"Quit it!" she hit his shoulder and coaxed a laugh. His hands cupped her face and he lovingly nuzzled her nose.

"I wanted to surprise you," she sighed, "but it kind of fell through."

"You surprised me."

"I did?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd have a month or so to clean out the drawers, but I see you helped yourself." He smirked slowly pulling her towards the bed, "And here you are…" He glanced at her red chair sitting in the corner, "You and your ugly reading chair."

"It's not ugly!" she gasped.

"It is…"

"It's very comfy!"

"Well that's what counts."

"I'm not getting rid of it!" Her eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm not asking you to."

"Good. Because I'm keeping it."

"Ok." His legs hit the bed and he stopped, a hand sneaking under her Yale hoodie and a moan escaping his lips when he noticed that she wasn't wearing anything underneath. She leaned into him pressing her lips on his pulse as her fingers undid his belt.

"So will you tell me what exactly is going on with Mitchum tomorrow?" she asked in between kisses and got a displeased groan in return.

"Ace, please do not talk about Mitchum when you are undoing my –, " he hissed when her hand disappeared under the waistband of his boxers.

"You're killing me," he groaned, his knees almost giving out, "But what a great way to go…"

**----------M-ish rated! --------------------**

He yanked the hoodie over her head and let it fly into the room like a big blue bird. Her white skin made him dizzy. He sat down on the edge of the bed pulling down her sweatpants and panties in one tug. Hugging her legs he pulled her closer, placing kisses on her stomach, coaxing a giggle when the tip of his tongue teased her bellybutton. She ran her hands through his hear pulling his head up and he gazed into her azure eyes, now shades darker.

"God, you're beautiful." He murmured closing his eyes when her knuckles lightly brushed over his cheek. He smirked at the sight of goose bumps on her thigh and leaned back enjoying the curve of her hip, the small heart shaped birthmark on her chest just under her left breast, the dark triangle between her creamy thighs. She was the epitome of beauty. He knew her body like Braille and was astound time and time again how she knew his. Sure he had enjoyed sex with many women, but Rory was the only one who could make him tremble with one featherlike stroke of her fingertips. She bit her lip looking at him through her eyelashes and he smiled, grabbing her hand and pulling her on the bed. She sunk in the covers and chuckled when he kissed her toes, her ankles, tickled the inside of her knees with his breath. She closed her eyes in anticipation when he grazed her thighs so painfully slow. He was almost there…almost when he started moving towards her knees again. With a grunt she grabbed him by his hair. He met her eyes and winked before seizing his teasing. With a gasp she gripped the covers arching her back and whispering something along the lines of 'God'. He remembered how she had attempted to hide her shyness on their first time. She had been tense, too nervous to let out a sound. Well shy she was no more, moaning his name louder and louder as she neared her periphery.Needing a release as much as she did, and wanting one together with her he stopped.

"Logan?" she whimpered as he kicked off his pants and boxers sighing at the relieve it brought.

"I'm here, Ace," he said kneeling in between her thighs.

"I want you." She uttered in a low voice, "I want you inside me." He locked eyes with her and hoisted her up. Her heart almost stopped when he lowered her hips onto himself.

"Oh God…" She moaned, her knuckles white from gripping the sheets, her head tilted back. His hands seized her hips and pressed her even closer to him, deeper; keeping her there for a while, willing the wilderness in his body away. After the hellish weekend and the accident as the icing on the rotten cake he wanted to relish the feeling of her as long as he could, he wanted to go slow. He took in the twisted look on her face if he wouldn't know better he would think she was in pain. Then her eyes fluttered open, darker than he had ever seen, filled with lust and passion.

She smiled at him and he smiled back moving her hips slowly. She wanted to move faster but he resisted her, tightening the grip on her hips. She grunted unpleased and Logan chuckled.

"Will I have to muscle you down?"

"Please.." she begged.

He kept moving her in slow long strokes.

"**Please**?" She sunk her teeth in his shoulder.

He groaned. She was leaving a mark. Then again he didn't care. He hissed when she seemed to want to hit the bone and released the hold on her hips. She rode him faster and faster and pressed her chest against his. Her moans floated together in one continuous lamentation as she threw her head back in surrender. Her muscles tightened around him as the orgasm washed over her and she collapsed in his arms, taking him with her. The salvation his body experienced almost hurt and the moan escaping his lips almost resembled that of a wounded animal.

**Not M-ish anymore! **

They remained sitting in their embrace for a while; silent apart from their erratic breathing.

"I love you…" Rory sniffed against his shoulder after a while. She didn't know why but she felt the urge to cry and was too tired to contain the tears that were brimming in her eyes.

"Ace?" Logan brushed the clammy strands of hair out of her face and found her damp eyes.

"What's wrong? Are you okay? Did I--?" he asked cradling her face.

"No. I mean yes. No," she started laughing through her tears, "It's not you, this was wow…I don't know what's wrong with me. I just…hold me?"

"I'll hold you," he smirked wiping away her tears with the pad of his thumb, "Always."

They moved to the pillows and she sighed when Logan enveloped her in the warmth of the down covers and the safety of his arms.

"Don't scare me like that ever again…"she said softly.

"What?"

"When you were late…I don't know. I felt sick with worry. Don't scare me like that ever again. Promise?"

He sighed.  
"I promise."

"Just call…or text me. Or send a carrier pigeon. A smoke signal will do too."

He pressed a kiss on her forehead, drawing circles on her back to calm her.

"You're ranting, Ace. Look at me. Not a scratch."

"I know." She heaved a sigh and smiled, "You look tired though."

"Yeah well, my father has the outstanding talent to suck the energy out of me. I feel better now though," he smirked pulling her closer, "You have the fabulous talent to reenergize me."

Rory laughed lightly stiffening a yawn.

"Let's get some sleep," he offered.

"Mhm…" was Rory's reply while she snuggled into him and her breathing slowed.

He watched her for a while. She felt perfect in his arms, something he had noticed the first timed they had held her. It was then that he should have known that she was different. He had trouble leaving her. And now she was here, in his – he smirked – their apartment. He was home. He felt home. She completed it.

* * *

"Colin and Finn helped me with my stuff," Rory explained when Logan asked her about the moving-scheme and sipped her coffee. They were still lying in bed both happy to have a quiet school free morning together. 

"How gallant of them."

"I think Colin has a hernia."

"You made him carry the books, didn't you." He put his mug on the bedside table and lay down again.

"I did…"

He snickered resting his head in her lap.

"Evil."

"Hey, be happy it wasn't you." Her free hand combed through his hair.

"Rory?"

"Mhm?"

"Well this is a very serious matter. I made a confounding discovery yesterday." He said in a grave tone.

"You did…" Her hand stopped as she tried to figure out what it was he had discovered.

"Yes…and I'm very curious and a little dejected …."

Rory frowned.

"I am talking about your deceit."

"My deceit." She raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. I found something in what previously was called Logan's drawer of underpants."

"You went through my underwear drawer?" she deadpanned, eyebrow cocked.

"No….I went through what was previously called Logan's drawer of underpants. And I found…Rory, how could you?"

"How could I what?" She leaned against the headboard looking down at him.

"It is mean to have something like that and never ever let me enjoy it," he exclaimed meeting her eyes.

"What are you talking about?!"

"The lace, the satin, the black, the sexy…very very sexy boy shorts?"

"Oh," she blushed. Logan smirked; Rory was probably the only girl that blushed at the thought of her own panties. What had he done to deserve her?

"Uhu! That's what I mean." He propped himself up on one elbow.

"I bought them before we…" the blushed deepened and Logan rolled his eyes.

"Started sleeping together?" he finished, trying to hide his smile by subtly covering his mouth with his free hand.

"Yeah…I bought it because somewhere I knew that the possibility of us sleeping together was there and I thought you would like something like that…" with every word her voice became quieter till she was mumbling something incomprehensible.

"Say what?"

"But then it just happened and I was wearing…"

"…orange penguin pyjamas."

"You remember."

"Ace, I may get Alzheimer's and forget my own name, but the image of you in those hideous pyjamas is burned in my scull. Forever."

"So I never put them on." She finished with a blush.

"Someday?" he batted his eyelashes causing her to laugh.

"You are such a horn dog."

"And you are a horn dog lover," he threw back at her, "So we match."

"Logan…" she said as her eyes caught a bruise on his shoulder she hadn't noticed yet.

"Yes?"

"Did I do that?" she poked at the bite mark.

"Ouch!" He rubbed the spot and smirked, "No, I was attacked by a pack of wolves… Yes **you** did it. I thought I heard my bone snap."

"I'm sorry…" she kissed the spot.

"You're forgiven. But I think we have to buy a muzzle before engaging in sexual intercourse again."

"Hey! There **will** be no more sexual intercourse if you don't play nice!" she said punching his shoulder.

"Ow, Ace! Come on! Stop abusing me!"

"Me? Abusing **you? **I'm a sweet as a white bunny…"

"Yeah…with nasty big pointy teeth. I wouldn't be surprised if you have the bones of full fifty men lie strewn about your lair."

"No, I change the sheets every week," she grinned hugging him and sighed, "I need to get up soon…Study."

"Well then before you have to go…" he pulled away out of her embrace and climbed out of bed, pulling on a pair of sweats.

"Where are you going?"

"To get the answering machine. It desperately needs a new message," he winked disappearing into the living room. Rory sighed, pulling the covers higher and looked around the bedroom - their bedroom - and she felt content, happy, in love, home.

* * *

"_You have reached Rory and Logan. We are currently not in, but please leave your name, phone number, the time you called, and the colour of your T-shirt. We'll get back to you if we like the colour," __**Beep**__**"**_Hey, it's Finn. You know my number. What **is **my number? And I'm wearing a light sea green … what kind of message is this?! Couldn't you just say that you were shagging? Jeez, meet me at the pub." 

**TBC**

**AN: Don't forget to review:)**


	18. Like a memory from a dream

**Disclaimer: **Do not owe Gilmore Girls.

**AN: So I thought I was going to be able to update during my vacation. As it turns out I wasn't. I don't know where time went, or what it was that I did that was so timeconsuming but summer...woosh! Gone! Then there was an exam I had to retake so I had to study (I do not recommend this. Studying during summer equals hell) and so here we are, it's practically september again. It's nearing 3 in the morning at the moment and my eyes are barely open, so I'm going to keep this short.  
Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! They really mean a lot to me :) **

**Without further due: here is the chapter :) I hope you like it. **

**_Chapter 18_****_: Like a memory from a dream_ **

"Are you really sure?"

Rory rolled her eyes fastening her earring. It seemed to be the only sentence that left Logan's mouth not only this but also the 2 previous days. And her repeating the same answer over and over again was becoming tiring.

"Yes, Logan, I'm sure," she answered patiently, "Do you want to pinky swear?"

He sighed exasperated.

"It's your wellbeing I'm looking out for. Just because he snaps his fingers doesn't mean the whole world has to obey. Well of course I have to obey, but I'm not going to watch how he sucks in everyone around me in his bloody hole of misery." Rory watched him rant and take an annoyed sip of his scotch with a loving expression on her face. Although she hated to see him miserable… she liked to see his vulnerability once in a while. And she liked that his soft spot often appeared to be her.

"Relax, it's not as if I will have to jump through a ring of fire."

"Wouldn't be so at ease about that…" he mumbled, before she took his hand and drew him closer, tightening his tie, "Stop mocking me. I hate when you mock me," he told her in a strict but also almost pouting manner. She smirked giving him a light peck on the lips.

"I need to get dressed," she said with an evident hint in her voice that he needed to find an occupation of time for a while that did not include her.

"Why?" he asked sheepishly kissing her jaw while his fingers hooked in the sash of her robe.

"Because my birthday suit doesn't exactly fit a black tie event. It's more suited for other occasions rather than launching a new magazine."

"Mhm and what event would that be?" he asked moving his ministrations to her ear.

Rory sighed closing her eyes and welcomed his hands on her naked waist.

"I was thinking graduations, birthdays, maybe an intimate Christmas celebration…that sort of thing."

"I can't wait till graduation," he murmured, grazing her neck with his teeth.

"If you leave a mark I will kill you," she groaned, but couldn't summon herself to actually push him away. It was his phone irritably demanding his attention on the bedside table that made him stop after a few pleads and promises for later by her. She wondered whether he always got what he wanted. And shook her head in amusement as he mouthed ´you owe me´ before closing the bedroom door of their hotel suit behind him. Apparently he did.

* * *

"Did I tell you that you look incredible already?" Logan asked while the limo made its way through New York's nocturnal streets. 

"Oh only about 20 times," Rory laughed, not moving her eyes from the window for any longer than to show him her smile.

"You grew up here, right?" she asked, taking in the liveliness of the city. She wondered if there was one quiet moment where everything just stopped or whether that would be like the halt of the beating of a heart.

"I did…well not here. Do you want to see?"

She met his eyes and nodded with a smile.

Logan turned to their driver and told him where to go leaning back in the seat and hooking their little fingers together.

"It's not a shack… in the garden of some charming Inn," he smirked.

"That's ok. I can't really imagine you in a residence that has a bathtub in the kitchen. "

"I would put that down as a necessity. Just imagine; having your morning coffee AND taking a bath. That's not only very very avant garde, that's also efficiency in its purest form!"

Rory blinked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Just so you know: You are completely out of your mind," she said before bursting into laughter.

"I'm simply open-minded."

"Yes…your mind is so open that your brain fell out."

He pinched her side sticking his tongue out at her and contently closed his eyes. Maybe this evening wasn't going to be a complete disaster after all. The car stopped and Logan got out helping Rory and her red dress out of the limo. She buttoned her coat and looked around. The street was dim lit. Townhouses on one side, a stone wall surrounding a park on the other.

"See that house?" he asked pointing at a beautiful 19th century redbrick house. Rory nodded.

"I lived there for the first 16 years of my life. Well I was in boarding school for some of that time, but I called this home."

"It's not what I expected," she said truthfully.

"What did you expect?"

"Honestly?"

He nodded.

"Mmm…I expected a Trump Tower kind of occurrence."

He laughed out loud, small clouds of air forming in the frosty air.

"No. My mom, she wasn't too much into the modern castle kind of thing. Shira on other hand… The place in Hartford. How to put it delicately? Let's say its grotesque. And don't let this shack fool you. It's bigger than it looks."

"I wish I could see it," she smiled.

"Who says you can't?"

She gaped at him.

"You are not thinking of breaking in, are you?"

He laughed at her ability to think the worst.

"No…"

"Do you have a key then?"

"Not exactly."

"Then how were you planning on getting inside?"

"Ace, Ace, Ace. It's not called breaking in if the house is technically yours. And I don't have a key…but if my memory serves me right, I know where to find one. Have faith, thy non believer."

He took her hand and led her around the block, a staccato of stiletto's echoing into the night as she tried to keep up with his rapid pace.

"Aren't we going to be late?"

He shrugged and pulled her inside a little ally.

"Where are we?" she asked just as he stopped.

"Wait here." He told her as he jumped up and got a hold of the wooden fence while, pulling himself up. He swiftly disappeared on the other side and she could hear his feet lightly touching the snow clad ground. Rory looked around, pulling the thin coat tighter around her body feeling very alone and doing something illegal in some little ally in the dark.

She almost visibly spooked, when the fence gate suddenly opened and Logan grinned at her.

"Mademoiselle," he said gesturing for her to come inside. She looked around the dishevelled garden, noting that it must have been beautiful at a time. The dark windows gave the house an abandoned and cold appearance and she was glad Logan took her hand, leading her inside, feeling for a light switch. When her eyes got used to the bright light, she was met by a spacious kitchen, looking as if time had stopped there. The memo-board on the fridge said _´Milk, coco puffs, and apples', _dried herbs were hanging under the cupboard, a copy of the New York Times as if about to be read was laying on the kitchen table and oven mittens lay on the counter as if someone had just used them. Although the temperature was below zero she smiled at the warmth of the room. Logan pulled her further into the house. An open hallway led to a wooden staircase curving up to the second floor. She tilted her head to look at the chandelier providing the riches and elegance to the room, yet not making it pompous.

"It's so beautiful here," she smiled as Logan pulled her further into a living room that gave her the strange feeling of Anastasia walking through the winter palace. She smiled about how Logan had to feel. _'This place it's like a memory from a dream.' _The huge fireplace was almost as tall as she was, the furniture hidden from view by large white sheets.

Her fingers traced the mantelpiece and she turned opening her mouth, only to find Logan in front of the glass sunroom doors. She made her way to him, the satin of her dress softly whispering around her legs.

"I haven't been here since…" he started running a hand through his hair. The unfinished sentence hung in the room like the humid heavy air before a storm. Rory touched his arm and laced her cold fingers with his. He pushed open the doors yet did not enter looking at the grand piano taking up the room.

"It looks amazing," Rory said admiring the walnut instrument, "Was it your mothers?"

"Yes, it was…" He answered after a moment's hesitation, "And it is amazing. It belongs in a museum. It's worth more than my car. You are looking at the vintage Porche of piano's, Ace." The corner of her mouth tilted slightly.

"Mitchum had it shipped from Europe for her 30th birthday. So much history," he said letting his hand run over the dusty surface, "Chopin played it, so did Liszt, Siloti. It has seen lots of talent. "

"Wow," was the only thing that left her mouth, "Your father must have really loved your mother."

"He did. Shocking, I know." She watched him sit down on the bench and open the lid. Almost shyly his fingers touched the keys and the piano as if accepting its handler produced a rich resonance. Rory watched him from afar for a while, listened to him play something she couldn't place yet had heard it in a grey past, before sitting down next to him, ignoring the cold.

"I still find it odd somehow; you playing the piano." Logan smiled as his fingers kept manipulating the keys, a fluent, slow melody filling the room.

"I'm not playing the hobo, Ace. The piano is the most common thing out there."

"I know…but still. And you are good. How in the name of God, do you remember all that?"

He chuckled.

"I don't"

"But you play without notes."

"It's the piano," he winked, "all the notes are stored it there. I give it the melody and it fills up the blanks." Rory chuckled.

"Funny. Funny long did you have lessons?"

"For about 10 years. Till mom got sick," the playfulness in his voice was replaced by something else. "Then I somehow started to rebel against it. She wanted me to go on and I didn't see the point…she was going to die anyway. For some reason I thought I was doing _**her**_ a favor by playing. And I wanted to be mad at something, someone…It seems so infantile now. Everything. She was growing gradually weaker till she couldn't lift a hand let alone play and she missed it. Music was her life. You should have seen her, Ace. When she played, you held your breath. She pushed those keys with her soul. The hairs on your arms stood upright. She probably loved that piano more than me." He smirked, sadness dancing in his eyes, but there was something else. Admiration?

Rory swallowed, willing her tears away. Although she knew that his mother died, how and why… He had never spoken about her in such an emotional way; never had started about her himself. This was the first time that he told her something out of the blue.

"I'm sure she loved you more than a thousand pianos," she softly spoke.

"I didn't play for almost a year." He continued, "I didn't touch a key. And it made her sad. I could see it in her eyes, but I didn't care. I came home drunk half of the time, my grades slipped, yet she never, not once said a word about it. She was too stubborn to put me in my place. I was too stubborn to see that I was killing not only her but also myself. The day she died… she asked me to play. She was laying downstairs in the closed veranda the sun was shining through the windows. I could see the dust dancing in the beams of light and it was so silent. Her shallow breathing seemed deafening. And she took my hand in hers - her hands used to be so beautifu and now all that was left of her was this shell - and I knew that she was ready then, that she was done. And she said…"

He stopped, drawing in a shaky breath. Rory's couldn't hold her sadness back, as tears rolled over her cheeks in silence.

"Play for me," He smiled, "She smiled with her eyes, which seemed the only thing in her body that had kept their spark, before closing them. So I played for her…for hours it seemed and when I stopped I couldn't hear her anymore. And the thing that struck me was that nothing changed. At all. The light was still falling through the window. I could here the birds outside and people on the street were going on without a hesitation. Hundreds of them, each with a destination in mind. The kids were still screaming in the park. It was as if she didn't matter. As if no-one noticed, but me and the piano. I swear it seemed as if its sound never was the same. She was the only one that could make it sing like that. And after she was gone, something died along with her. That's why it's so special, Ace, this piano. It's a part of her soul. It made her live up to her greatest and it saw her at the worst…and in the end it accompanied her into her last moments." He turned to face her.

"Do you understand now? How I remember? It's all I have, Rory. I can't forget. I never will. Because if I forget, I forget her. And I can't forget her." He whispered, "I can't…"

"I understand," she said softly, wiping her damp cheeks and flattering her face against his shoulder.

"What about your father? Where was he?"

She jumped up as Logan slammed shut the lid and the instrument produced a deafening growl.

"We're going to be late," he simply said, getting up.

She looked at him confusion evident in her damp eyes. As open as he was just seconds ago, as introvert he was now. She wondered what had happened to them. Rose had spoken of Mitchum turning cold the moment Logan needed him the most. Was that the reason why they were so estranged? Mitchum not being there when it happened? Not being there afterwards?

"Are you coming?" she heard him from the hallway and swiftly got up shaking her head as if to clear it from her thoughts.

* * *

The ride to the Waldorf was quiet. Rory played with her shawl while Logan absently looked out of the window, lost in thought somewhere. 

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked eventually, cutting through the silence.

He looked at her smirking and put an arm around her shoulders pulling her close.

"Now where would you keep a penny? As far as I know that dress doesn't have pockets."

He was avoiding her again. She hated when he did that, yet she let it slide.

"I have my ways," she shot back.

"Do you now?" he smirked, his eyes sparkling cheekily.

She blushed furiously realizing what she had said just as the car came to a halt and the driver said that they had arrived. Logan didn't move, his lopsided infuriating irresistible smirk still in place. He stared at her.

"Stop it!" she laughed trying to fidget out of his embrace as the driver held open the door. With a grin Logan got out offering her his hand and helping her out as well.

* * *

"My God I am brilliant," Logan said letting his eyes wander over Rory's gown. The strapless garment showed just enough of her pure white skin. The ruching at the hips accentuated her beautiful figure and the playful brooch at the rare back made him smile. She looked absolutely breathtaking in the layers of satin. 

She rolled her eyes at his comment.

"What? You have to admit. You are quite some plum coloured vision."

With a theatrical gesture she slung the shawl over her shoulder and batted her eyelashes.

He laughed placing a hand on the small of her back and leading her through the marble lobby to the ballroom.

* * *

"Logan?" she asked as he plucked 2 flutes of champagne from a waiter's tray. 

"Yes, dear?" he answered in a mock-British accent handing her the glass.

"Is that my grandmother?"

His eyes travelled through the room to settle on no woman less than Emily Gilmore standing next to her husband and Carl Bernstein, laughing at something the man said.

"I believe it is."

"But-" Rory started.

"I warned you, Ace. You are not here to just enjoy the game. You are a pawn in Mitchum Huntzberger's strategy."

"But you don't understand. Grandma…she is going to plan the wedding!"

"What wedding?" he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Our wedding! Are you ready to wear matching sweaters?!"

"I'm sure you are overreacting." He tried to appease her.

"Overracting? Logan, we are talking Emily Gilmore here. You," she pointed her finger at him, "are Logan frikkin' Huntzberger. You showed up at Valentines Day! And now you are here. With me! She is not only going to plan the wedding…she is going to expect grandchildren by Christmas. And although I love you I'm not ready to marry you!" She stopped looking at him standing in front of her, wide-eyed, her finger still pressed in his chest. She took a breath repeating her words in her head and stammered: "Or anyone else for that matter."

"Rory," he started carefully, "You know Mussolini, right?"

"Yes…" she drew out hesitantly not sure where he was going.

"Emily Gilmore is not Mussolini," he articulated. He watched her lip stick out in a pout before she stated:

"Emily Gilmore IS Mussolini! And we are Ethiopia!"

A few horrified faces looked their way and Logan threw them a polite smile before taking Rory's hand and pulling her out into the lobby once more. He led her further and further away from the event and they had almost reached the wardrobe before Rory asked where they were going.

"You are obviously upset. So let's go. No one has seen us yet. And this way you don't have to face Emily, plan our wedding, while knitting matching sweaters and worrying about providing her grandchildren before Christmas," he explained gesturing the wardrobe-employer.

She burst out in laughter at the absurdity of it.

"Aaaand," he stretched, "You won't frighten more of the guests…or me. I never quite saw myself as Ethiopia."

"Ok, ok…I get the point."

"Please get us our coats." He told the wardrobe- employer.

"Logan…"

"No, no. We are leaving."

"I'll behave, I promise!"

He looked at her with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

"I mean what's the worst that could happen?"

"Well, I don't know," he shrugged, "According to you we will be annexated."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"You obviously don't know Emily."

He let out a laugh as they slowly started walking back towards the party.

"Rory…you forget that my father is Hitler. And I hear Mussolini and Hitler were quite the buddies. Just…smile and wave."

* * *

"Rory, dear! You look absolutely beautiful," Emily exclaimed, kissing her on the cheeks, "And Logan! How wonderful that you came together!" 

"Hey, grandma, I didn't know you were going to be here," she smiled at Logan taking her hand behind her back and tracing his finger from her wrist to the tip of her fingers. She closed them around his and gave them a slight squeeze.

"Oh it was kind of a spur of the moment invitation by Mitchum. What a wonderful man."

For a moment Rory thought Logan was going to choke on his drink, but he managed to save himself with grace.

"You two are such a beautiful couple. You should come to dinner sometime. Don't you think that would be nice, Richard?" Emily went on turning around and furrowing her brow when her husband turned out to be missing, "Now where did he go?"

"That sounds magnificent, Emily," Logan answered politely, "I can't get enough of your salmon puffs."

"Well then there will be salmon puffs! Richard! Richard, look who is here." She chirped spotting Richard in conversation with a golfing buddy.

Richards face was lit by a bright smile at the sight of his granddaughter. He excused himself and made his way over to them.

"What a surprise! Rory, I didn't recognize you! You look like a lady. No, no, you **are **a lady."

"Hey, grandpa," Rory smiled.

"It's nice seeing you too, Logan," he extended his hand and Logan shook it.

"Likewise, sir," he smirked.

"You certainly surprised me last week, young man. I take it your intentions are honourable?"

"**Grandpaaa!"** Rory's face came close to matching her dress.

"Yes, sir," Logan nodded solemnly, "I care a lot about –"

"Logan, there you are," He was interrupted, "I already heard a rumour that you were here. I told them they had to be mistaken. My son…on time." Mitchum laughed clasping his shoulder. Logan keeping his put on charm laughed, downing the rest of his drink in one swallow and squeezing Rory's hand tighter.

"Miracles do happen," he said smirking and Rory tried her best not to shout out that he was breaking her hand.

"They certainly do. Rory, how wonderful to see you again. You look splendid. Emily I could almost confuse you for her sister." She produced a small smile, digging the nails of her free hand in Logan's wrist. He loosened his grip and she moved her fingers, glad they were still in one piece.

"Oh Mitchum," Emily laughed, "You and your humour."

The charade went on for a few moments longer, before Logan excused them and pulled her away. He gave her a smile, one saying: _'See? We survived.' _But she saw that he was angry, annoyed. After all…Her hand was still throbbing and then there was the tightness of his jaw, the polite but ice cold remarks. He introduced her to some guests, calming down a bit with the help of a glass of 20 year old scotch.

* * *

"Excuse me for a moment," she told Maria, the wife of the new editor in chief and was about to walk away when Logan pulled her hand. 

"Where are you off to?" he asked with a wink.

"To the little girl's room," she answered.

"Are you going to climb out of the window there?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I've been trying to ditch you all evening now."

He grinned letting go of her hand and resuming the conversation.

* * *

Rory fixed her dress and lipstick and exited the marble restroom. Just then someone was coming from the other way and she got caught in a human collision. 

"I'm sorry…" she laughed stumbling around. Her smile froze, when she saw who was standing behind her.

"Mister Huntzberger," she uttered trying to regain her composure.

"I apologize." The man said and her eyebrows rose in confusion.

"It was my fault sir," she answered and wanted to make an exit as quickly as possible. The man made her uncomfortable.

"I apologize for New York," Mitchum clarified and made her stop dead in her tracks. That statement made her skin crawl for some reason.

"You apologize? To _**ME**_?" she asked pointing a finger at herself.

"Yes. The way I spoke about you. I was wrong, I was angry and you didn't deserve it. I can see now that you are more to my son, than…"

* * *

Logan shot a look in the direction Rory had disappeared. He started to think she _had _climbed out of the window. He had had about enough of this evening and he wanted nothing more than to go back to the hotel and to claim his 'debt'. He smirked at the thought, walking in the direction of the restrooms, trying to keep every greeting as short as possible. Just as he left the noisy room he was met by 2 familiar voices. Rory's and -he raised his eyebrows -his fathers.

* * *

"A cheap tramp?" Rory finished, raising her eyebrows. She was taken aback by her own boldness. She was not one of those people that could tell anyone and anything off. 

The stern look on his face faltered for a moment.

"It's spineless after you have talked to my grandparents, but frankly I do not care. It's not me you should be apologizing to," she continued, her irritation only being fuelled by his silence.

"It's not? And who should I be apologizing to?" The man crossed his arms in front of his chest looking down at the petite young woman in front of him, her blue eyes spitting fire.

* * *

Logan was about to walk-in on them. The man seriously had nerve harassing his girlfriend twice in a month, but it was Rory's answer that stopped him. She was so incensed that she didn't notice him standing there within hearing distance.

* * *

"Logan. You remember your son? About yay high," she held her hand just above her head. "Blond, has your eyes in fact, but then warm, and your smile, yet sincere. If there is anyone that you owe an apology to, it's him," she spat.

* * *

Logan was speechless. He didn't know what to think. He just stood there glued to the marble floor and listened to what turned out to be the beginning of a rant.

* * *

"Do I now? If I may be so bold… What do you actually know about Logan or me for that matter? Because he sleeps with you more than once, doesn't mean you have the right to order me around or claim to know my son," Mitchum pointed his finger at her, his tone resembling rolling thunder, but it didn't intimidate her. She didn't feel the slightest trace of fear. 

"Know Logan? Ha!" she crossed her arms in front of her chest as well, "What do **YOU** know about Logan?! Did you know he hates grapefruits?"

"What an essential knowledge of the depths of my son. Or maybe he doesn't have any…" he ridiculed.

"That he runs 5 miles every morning, that he loves Italian food, but prefers French wine?"She continued.

"Rory…"Mitchum warned.

"That he stays in for Hitchcock movies? That Octavio Paz is one of the, if not his favourite writer? That he admires him?"

"Miss. Gilmore! I am not going to stand here and lis…"

"That he has read to _'To kill a mockingbird'_ 10 times and the essay he wrote about it not only got him an A, but was published in the in the Yale Review?" She was raving now, unable to stop, her blue eyes burning. "That he **LOVES** to write?!" That silenced him alright. Rory was breathing heavily.

"So I thought," she said straightening her shoulders.

"This is not the Logan I know…" he started.

"Yeah well he is 23. Maybe it's time you got to know him." With that she walked past him, leaving a dumbstruck Mitchum standing in the hall but stopped dead in her tracks seeing Logan just a few steps away. She gave him a frail smile, not sure of what to say and how much he had heard. He didn't return it, kept staring at her with a blank expression that all of a sudden turned into anger. She watched his jaw clench, as did his fists, his eyes darkened like the sky before a storm.

"Logan—" she started, but before she could utter anything more he turned around and walked away. She turned around, and a still astounded Mitchum met her eye. Without a further thought she ran after him, trying not to trip over her dress.

How did she dare?! What damn right did she have to not only intervene in something that did not concern her, but to tell him everything, he didn't want him **to **know? Who gave her the right to define who he was to the one man he truly hated. Logan took an uneven breath as he made his way through the lobby, with only one thing on his mind. _The Exit. _

**_TBC_**

**AN: So this was it :) Hope you enjoyed it. Please review!**


	19. Macallan Neat and Tears on the Rocks

* * *

Chapter 19

**Author's Note**

**Dear Readers, **

**I think I**** owe you all an explanation about my disappearing act. I wish I could say I was hit by a bus and was laying in a coma for 6 months as a result, that I had fallen overboard and washed ashore on this small, uninhabited barren knoll measuring 0.5 sq mi. Both Canada and Denmark are fighting about this rock in the middle of the sea, but boat visits are nonetheless rare and so I had to entertain myself with the football that had fallen overboard with me for half a year (very Cast Away)…or that I was beamed up by aliens one day walking back from the supermarket. They used me for all sorts of testing and as a result I still howl at the moon once in a while… But unfortunately that would not be the entire truth. There is no excuse for my lack of updates other than that I felt uninspired (a.k.a. writers block the size of Russia). Add school to that (which has been robbing practically every single minute of my time) and you have yes… exactly months and months of howling winds and no updates. Here is the aftermath of the eventful evening from the previous chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you all for all for sticking by me and for the wonderful reviews that kept putting a smile on my face through all this time :) and please leave some more after this chapter.**

**Sincerely, Eva**

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything except what's mine!

**Since it's been a while since I updated here a short 'previously on the Next Best Thing' ;): **

**-**** ….**_**Paris Internship Program**_**. She had sent them a letter 2 moths ago, seeing it not only as a great opportunity to get some experience and clean up her French, but also as a way to get her mind straight about Logan… 3 months without the boy could give her some perspective. But now, now she was afraid to open it and find a positive answer. She held her breath as her hand moved the cursor on the mail and she clicked it open. Her heart made a jump when the page appeared before her….. (Ch13) **

- **…****Rory swallowed, willing her tears away. Although she knew that his mother died, how and why… He had never spoken about her in such an emotional way; never had started about her himself. This was the first time that he told her something out of the blue…. (Ch18)**

**-…"Logan. You remember your son? About yay high," she held her hand just above her head. "Blond, has your eyes in fact, but then warm, and your smile, yet sincere. If there is anyone that you owe an apology to, it's him," she spat… (Ch18)**

**Chapter 19**

**Macallan Neat and Tears on the Rocks**

"Logan, wait!" she shouted, scurrying after him as fast as her high heels could carry her. He didn't wait nor did he intend to as he ran down the stairs two at a time.

"Please, stop," she pleaded, following him best as she could, "Can't we talk about this?"

Against her expectations he turned around.

"I think you've done enough talking for tonight," He spat. She had never seen him this angry.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered, still trying to grasp what it actually was she was apologizing for. What it was he was so mad about. He was independent and he didn't like to be helped or even worse pitied. But she couldn't just ignore him being unhappy for the simple reason that she loved him. And him baring his soul just mere hours ago only amplified that love and the worry. He didn't say anything, was simply standing at the bottom of the marble stairs, hiding everything in his dark eyes, except his anger.

"I'm sorry, Logan." She repeated her apology and waited for a response other than the livid scrutiny of his eyes.

"Take the driver," he then said curtly before turning around and walking into the night.

"Where are you going?" she shouted after him, but he didn't turn back and soon she couldn't distinguish him anymore amongst the dozens passersby. She wanted to go after him but her satin pumps were cemented into the marble of the stairs. He didn't want her after him. That much was clear. She ran her hands through her hair only then realizing that she was standing alone in the cold and near tears and a strange feeling of a déjà vu overflowed her. But he wouldn't come looking for her this time. She climbed the stairs again, sadly thanking the doorman for opening the heavy door for her and made her way through the hall stopping in the middle at seeing Mitchum watching her from across the room, before turning around and walking away towards the festivities. Rory continued her way to the wardrobe. The party was over. She hoped her relationship wasn't.

* * *

He walked through the city in brisk steps ignoring the freezing cold and the fact that he wasn't wearing a coat. He had no idea where he was going. And truthfully everything was fine, if only it was away from the Waldorf, away from Mitchum and away from Rory. He plucked at his bowtie violently in the false hope it would make the suffocating feeling disappear. He craved a drink, the burning sensation of 20 year old golden scotch. Although at this point, he would down a bottle of cheap vodka from the bottom shelf of a shady liquor store in a blink, not caring about the terrible taste or the guaranteed hangover the next day. Everything that would take away this sickening feeling in his stomach away was okay, even if it would replace the sickening feeling with another one. But at this point he would rather puke his guts out than think about what he had witnessed. _Sam's _he read the neon letters on the building before him and stopped. This was as good a place as any to get hammered. He entered the crowded pub, and headed straight for the bar.

"What can I get you?" the bartender asked as he sat down.

"What kind of scotch do you have?" he returned the question.

"Four Roses, Jim Beam, Jack Daniel's."

"Any _actual _scotch?" he emphasized. The bartender shook his head and he sighed.

"Double Jim's then."

"On the rocks?"

"Neat." The glass had barely touched the counter when he tossed it back and motioned for another.

* * *

Rory's heels clicked on the wooden floor as she paced through the hotel room. Where was he? She had tried calling his cell phone against better judgment. He didn't pick up and she didn't expect he would, but she had to do something. She was worried. She wanted to look for him, but didn't know where to start. She didn't even know if he would come back… Was she just supposed to go back to New Haven? She rubbed her face and sat down on the bed, with a wince removing the pumps off her feet. Her heels were red and close to bleeding, her soles were sore. As pretty as the shoes were…they were at least that much uncomfortable. She sighed rubbing her sore feet her eyes settling on Logan's overnight bag. The layers of silk whispered around her feet as she got up and lifted the leather bag off the floor. She pulled out a faded Yale t-shirt and buried her nose in it, taking in his distinct sent. It was then that the tears came. She let out a loud sob muffling it with her hand in an effort to stop, but the damage was done and an avalanche of tears poured over her cheeks and drenched the worn cotton fabric. How was it possible that an evening that had started out so promising had ended up as a total disaster? She lay down, pulling her knees up and hugged the t-shirt tighter as a restless sleep soon got the best of her.

* * *

One could know one had a hangover when there was evidence of a headache, nausea, intestinal upset, aching muscles and joints, and deadly fatigue. If there was one thing Logan Huntzberger was certain about, it was that he definitely had a hangover. Even blinking seemed to send a splitting pain through his brain, if indeed he still had one. With utter concentration he managed to maneuver his finger to press the elevator button and leaned his forehead against the cool wall. It pinged much louder than he remembered. The door of the suite wasn't locked and he was met by darkness. At least it worked somewhat soothingly on his splitting headache. As he neared the bedroom he heard the running water in the shower saw the mangled sheets on one side of the bed, his t-shirt laying in a heap near the pillow. He rubbed his tired eyes and decided to get himself a few painkillers. He rummaged through his bag but couldn't find anything that even resembled little white pills of salvation. With a groan he looked around the bedroom and located Rory's purse. He emptied it on the bed and dug through all the items piling out. It ranged from panty's to tampons. There was a very good reason why guys did not go through girl's purses, but he, he was desperate. He finally located the familiar white box and carried it to the mini bar, taking out a bottle of water. He had barely swallowed the pills when Rory appeared out of the bathroom dressed in jeans and a hello kitty top. Her wet hair clung to her face. He could still see traces of mascara on her cheeks.

"Hey…" she said softly, "I—"

"Frank is waiting," he said in a cold and hung-over voice before grabbing his bag and heading out the door.

Rory blinked, unable to move for a moment. He had looked like hell and she could clearly see he had been drinking and even more clearly was the anger written all over him. But he had come back. That was good, wasn't it? She gathered her things, gave the hotel room a once over before making her way downstairs.

* * *

"Are you coming to bed?" she asked quietly, standing in the doorway. At first he didn't react. Same way as he had been ignoring her all day. The car ride to New Haven was so silent she had almost started clawing the windows. Nothing had changed when they stepped through the door of the apartment. It was as if she was air to him. No matter how hard she tried, or how often she apologized. She had called her mother letting her tears fall in the bathroom and had taken comfort in her words, telling her that he needed time. But each time he gave her the cold shoulder it just made it that much harder to believe and she had been walking around on the brink of tears all day now.

"No." He then returned curtly, never lifting his eyes from the TV.

Rory bit her lip, willing the tears that now were so dangerously close to falling away and turned around, making her way in to the bedroom. She crawled into the bed, cold and empty without him and rolled herself to a little ball under the down covers to warm up. She felt miserable and could no longer hold back her tears, letting them silently glide down her cheeks. She hated him yelling but she hated him being like this even more.

Despite his love for _'Scarface'_ Logan watched Tony Montana single-handedly taking on Sosa's men with little enthusiasm. The sinking feeling in his stomach grew. Was he overreacting? His heart picked up pace when he thought back at her words. **What do you know about Logan? **The answer was nothing. And he preferred it that way. He hated that he loved writing, that he was capable of it. The same way that he at this point hated that he loved Rory. That he just couldn't leave, rebuild his walls and live his life the way he did before her. He hated the way he couldn't and didn't want to imagine it. The way he had to restrain himself from looking at her, because one look into those cerulean eyes made him forget what it was he was mad about. And he **was **mad. It was not her place to tell his father off. If there was one person whose place it was, it was his and no ones but his. And he was nowhere near ready to take a stand. He wasn't sure if he was strong enough to ever do so, but that didn't mean that she had the right to butt in. He swirled the golden scotch in his glass before taking a sip and letting the smooth liquid caress the roof of his mouth as the credits of the movie started rolling over the screen. With a sigh he turned off the TV. His eyes drifted to the closed door of the bedroom and he contemplated going in, yet decided against it, walking to the window and looking out over the lit campus. He leaned his forehead against the cool glass and sighed, before padding to the room and pushing open the door. He leaned against the doorframe and watched the figure in bed. She lay curled up on her side quiet and still. It looked unnatural somehow, the covers so tight around her. He knew she wasn't sleeping. In silence he undid his pants and shirt, and lay down next to her. For a while he just lay on his back staring at the ceiling, contemplating on how long he could and would give her the silent treatment. He turned his head and fixed his eyes on her back when he heard her take a shaky breath. She was trying not to cry and that broke his heart.

"Hey," he spoke softly, the silence amplifying his voice to something it was not, "Look at me."

He waited till she had switched sides, nothing else audible than the rustling of sheets. He saw tears glistering in the streetlight falling through the blinds.

"I'm sorry for getting this worked up," he said wiping her cheeks, "Yet, you shouldn't have done it."

"And I'm sorry for it," she replied quietly.

"Well you're sorry and I'm sorry. Done." He smirked dimly.

"It wasn't out of pity or anything…"

"Rory –" He sighed, not willing to go into this any further.

"He was just being such a knob, that before I knew it I started yelling at him for no apparent reason," she continued, "I just don't like him."

"Well that makes two of us."

"You don't like me either…" she added meekly.

"Can we just consider this subject closed?" He rubbed his face.

She sighed as he installed himself more comfortably, his eyelids becoming heavy.

"Logan?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we okay?"

"Sure," he replied closing his eyes.

He felt her staring at him and he knew that she wouldn't seize before he gave her a satisfying answer. He wasn't in the mood to lie. At this point he wasn't okay. He still felt angry, and he wanted to just forget. Thus instead of voicing it he simply pulled her close, her head coming to a rest against his shoulder. He opened his eyes at the feather light touch of her fingers on his chest, soft kisses on his collarbone and neck.

"Rory, don't … just sleep. I'm tired," he protested.

_And mad, _Rory thought seizing her ministrations with a sigh. She wondered how long he was to remain so. How safe the safety his embrace offered really was. Maybe her mother was right and he needed time. Yet, that didn't take away the fact that she hated not being liked. She hated him being mad at her. And him turning her down was just a mere confirmation that he was. She wasn't leaning towards hot make up sex. All she wanted was a response and not the kind she just had gotten. Her hands felt restless. Uncertain of what his reaction would be she slid one over to lay on his warm stomach and when his hand came up as well, she was sure he was going to push hers away. However, it came at rest on top of hers and she snuggled against him closing her eyes.

"I love you," she said softly.

"Mhm…"

That was not the reply she was going for and again she fought the tears. It seemed like hours before sleep overtook her also, while she lay there close to him and yet so far away. She listened to his slow breathing indicating he was asleep and wondered how long he was going to be like this; how many nights like this there would be.

* * *

"Thank you," he said encompassed in the New York Times when Rory placed a mug of coffee in front of him on the kitchen counter. She sat down in front of him and started nibbling on her pop tart, looking at him.

"Do you want a section?" he asked never lifting his eyes off the paper. She nodded quietly and he handed her the national section.

"Thanks." Another silence fell and Rory sighed. It was not that they had never had silences between them; it was that those silences never made them act like strangers. She tried to focus on the article on the page, but she just couldn't and ended up just staring at him.

"Are you trying to make a hole in my head?" he asked taking a sip.

"No… it just… Can't we just go back to how it was?"

He put the paper down.

"What?"

"I hate this."

"Breakfast?" he raised his eyebrows.

"No! This." She pointed at him and at herself, "You and me. Like this."

"Having breakfast?"

She gave him a look and heaved a deep sigh. He was obviously playing stupid and it didn't suit him. But here she was, in a position that made it hard if not impossible to tell him so.

"I'm going to do my French assignment," she then said and picked up her mug, making her way to the study. With a sigh she plopped down in the leather deckchair and for a while she just twirled on it from side to side, her eyes fixed on nothing in particular, and her mind deep in thoughts. Then finally awakening out of her trance she opened her book and with a deep sigh started reading, her mind just didn't seem to register or the foreign babble and she started leafing through it holding her other hand against the soft aeration that evolved from the pages. She almost didn't notice the single double folded sheet that slipped out and drifted on the floor. She reached for it and opened it.

_Dear Miss. Gilmore,_

_The Organization of the University of Yale Paris Internship Program is hereby inclined to inform you, that you have been accepted to the program of 2006/2007. Further information will reach you by mail within the following weeks. In case questions arise, you can contact the secretariat during office hours. _

_Kind Regards, E. Stampton, chairwoman of the Organization of the University of Yale Paris Internship Program _

The internship. She had completely forgotten about this. So many new things had wormed their way into her life, that this had completely disappeared to the background. The word Paris seemed to jump off the paper and brand itself on her retina, enticing and luring.

"I'm off."

Rory blinked a few times and looked up only to see Logan in the doorway, his leather jacket was unzipped, a scarf was loosely hanging around his neck.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Colin's."

"Oh…ok. Have fun." She looked down at her book again not wanting to watch him walk away, giving her a cold shoulder again. Although him actually saying where it was he was going was a actually progress.

"I'll be back before dinner. Take-out?"

She met his eyes again almost as surprised if it had been Henry the armor suddenly bursting out into song.

"Sure. What are you in the mood for?"

"Chinese?"

"Sounds good." She smiled.

"Good. See you then."

"Bye." She stared at the empty doorway long after he was gone. Then her eyes drifted to the paper in her hands again. With a sigh she folded it and put it back in her book. It was time to do some homework.

* * *

She had just finished packing her book bag and was putting on her shoes when a persistent knock on the door echoed through the apartment. Rory straightened up, brushing a wisp of hair out of her face. She wondered who it was.

"Coming!" she hollered, pulling on her second boot and scurrying to the door. She had barely opened it when her smile and her posture froze.

"Mr Huntzberger," She uttered astonishment dancing on her features as she tightly clutched the doorknob.

**TBC**

**AN: I am ****honestly not too pleased with this chapter. But ****this**** chapter has been the blocking factor. I HAD to get it out of the way in order to move on. Please review. Oh yeah…and sorry for the cliffy lol but I cross my heart I'll update soon. **


	20. Issues & Tissues

**AN:**** I wanted to thank you all for your wonderful reviews! Some where heartwarming, others plain scary (Yes I'm talking to you Lexx ;) ) So thank you guys! You make me a very happy camper :)!**

**I also wanted to reply to one in particular, because I did not get the chance to do so personally:**

**Janey, not always is a relationship perfectly balanced. Not always are we reasonable and not always are our emotions accordingly displayed. Sometimes someone is the doormat and someone else is a jerk. I value your opinion. It was, however, not my intent to make the chapter misogynistic and I don't think it was. Unfairness on other hand was definitely on the menu. Thank you for your honest review.**

**And ****there you have it :) Enjoy. Lexx, call back the army, I have met my deadline with looooots of room to spare lol. **

**Disclaimer: **Again, don't own Gilmore Girls, only my disorganized head.

**Chapter ****20**

**Issues & Tissues**

"Mr Huntzberger," Rory uttered astonishment dancing on her features as she tightly clutched the doorknob.

"Hello, Rory." The tall blond man smiled at her unsurely, "I've come here to talk to my son."

"Uhm…he is not home right now." She was surprised to see his face fall a bit, "But you can wait….if you want. I can call him…Or you can call him…"

"Thank you, Rory. I'm just going to wait."

She nodded opening the door wider and letting him in.

"Can I get you something? Something to drink?"

"Something to read?" he locked eyes with her and she stared back. Logan was mad at her as it was. Would she make it worse by giving Mitchum that part of Logan? Not too long ago he was even apprehensive to let her read. Mitchum saw her uneasiness and sighed.

"The YDN will do too."

She went into Logan's study and glanced at the Daily News laying on the desk before pulling open one of the drawers and taking out a file.

She walked back into the living room finding Mitchum in front of the bookcase.

"He always liked to read. I got him a bike…a real one for his fifth birthday. He had begged me ever since the third day after he had gotten a 'baby-bike' as he would call it. Yet, it was the _Very Hungry Caterpillar _he got from his aunt that had him quiet all day."

Rory smiled.

"I'm sure he liked the bike…"

"Oh yes, he did. We were in the hospital the following day. He had biked off the stairs. I have held my heart more than once at his self-destruction bordering sense of adventure."

"Here…" she handed him the plain folder and he looked at her not comprehending at first, but a slight twitch of the corner of his mouth made clear he understood.

"Thank you, Rory," he said, taking it from her, thanking her for more than the articles alone.

"You're welcome and could you not tell him?" She blushed, "That I gave this to you? He is mad at me as it is."

"Mad at you?" he echoed.

"Yeah…I'm sorry, I have to go. My 4 pm class starts in 10 minutes and Logan said he was going to be home before dinner…so, do you mind if I--."

"No, no. Go. I don't want to keep you. And I have reading material." He lifted the articles with a smirk.

"Okay, well…Goodbye," she said grabbing her red coat, while wrapping a scarf around her neck.

"Mhm…" was all that reached her back while his eyes rapidly ran over the lines.

* * *

"I'm sure it will be fine, Colin. This time we at least **have **parachutes. I guess that is a whole step up…or a softer one down." He laughed sticking the key in the lock and turning it, surprised to find the door unlocked. Rory was supposed to be at her French class.

"Rory?" he called hanging up his coat and walking into the living room. He stopped dead in his tracks when the person sitting on his couch in his apartment turned out to be not his girlfriend, not a burglar, not a ruthless axe killer, but his father.

"I'll call you back, Colin," he said clasping his phone shut, "What do you want?"

"Hello to you too," he said folding the paper he had been reading and placing it on the coffee table.

"How did you get in?"

"Rory let me wait for you. Very generous of her. And I wanted to talk to you."

"Talk to me?" he scoffed, "You should have saved yourself the trouble and left a message on the answering machine."

"I wanted to talk to you in person," he answered.

"I have nothing to say to you," he turned around and strode into the kitchen pulling open the fridge.

"Logan! Get back in here! Stop throwing tantrums like a six year old. I understand that you are mad, but this is no way to solve issues."

The muffled sound of things breaking echoed through the apartment as Logan sent the refrigerator door flying in its place with just a little more swing than usual.

"You understand?!" he yelled, "What do you understand!? And what do you know about solving issues!" The can of worms was opened.

"Logan—"

"No! Whenever a real issue arises, one that has nothing to do with your beloved company you stick your head in the sand. The last time there was an issue you chose to lock yourself up in that room! You chose to not look at me for three months!"

"I'm sorry, Logan, but I was hurting!"

"And I wasn't?! She was my mother, you selfish son of a bitch!"

"Logan…" Mitchum tried to soothe his rising anger, but realized soon enough that he hadn't come fully prepared. He didn't think that Logan would open old wounds, but at the look of it his was still gaping.

"Talk you say? You don't want to talk. You don't want to hear what I have to say."

"That's where you're wrong…"

"Fine! I hate you!" he spat, his heart racing as if it tried to escape his body, "You are a coward! A selfish coward! From the moment you heard that she was going to die you put your head in the sand like no ostrich could! What husband leaves for Sydney for two months when his wife is dying? She didn't fit your fucking plan of a happy family so you cast her aside!"

Now it was his turn to get mad.

"Now you listen to me! I don't want you talking like that about your mother **ever **again! I **loved **her! She was my world! Do you have any idea how it feels to sit there and watch that person slowly disappear?!"

"**I **do! **I **have! I have literally watched her die! And where were you?! Oh yes a fucking board meeting! I told Lena and I held her when she cried!" _And there was no one to hold me, _"It was Abigail, Rose and me who arranged the funeral! Where were you?! I've never seen you since! Have you ever wondered why Lena runs away from home?! Or how many times she has called me in tears?! You are never there! Even when you are you're not! Because if it doesn't fit your vision it's not to be addressed! You are willing to step over bodies to get what you want and you don't care who those bodies are. You even married that damn bitch not even a year after mom died so that your picture would be complete again!"

"That's enough! Don't bring Shira into this. She has wanted nothing but the best for you and your sister!" his father shouted, but Logan wouldn't hear it.

"Too bad at that point I didn't seem to fit it anymore. And you have never accepted it! You have never asked me what I want! And you resent me for the fact that I don't fit the image of your perfect son!"

"I said that's enough!" Mitchum now bellowed rising from his seat towering well above his son.

"Call me all you want but don't accuse me of resenting you! You are my son! And all I have done everything to assure **your** future! And it hurts to see Logan. It hurts to see how self-destructive you are when it comes to your…talent!" It took all strength in the world to not say the word destiny, "Your future! Your happiness!"

"You have done everything to assure your own future!" Logan yelled back, "The future of your beloved company! Your happiness! I don't want it! I don't want to belong to you! I don't want to become you!"

"You can't deny who you are, Logan. You are a Huntzberger whether you like it or not! You are my future! You as my son! I might not have been the best father but I'm your father nonetheless!"

"Get out!" Logan's voice broke. Mitchum sighed. Maybe it was too late. Maybe he couldn't mend the relationship with his son. Maybe the broken pieces were too small to be glued together. Maybe he had pushed him so out of his orbit that there was no return. Lots of maybes. For the first time in years he looked at his son, who was on the verge of tears and saw him as the little boy he had once comforted after he had scraped his knee, the little boy that had trouble with fractions and angrily flung away his book when his patience ran out, yelling that he didn't need math anyway. He didn't know what to say anymore. How to make up for it.

"Logan…" he reached out to grasp his shoulder, but the boy evaded him as if he came running at him with a burning poker.

"I said get out." He repeated through clenched teeth, willing the angry tears away. He did not cry; particularly not in the presence of his father and; especially not **about **his father.

"Very well," Mitchum nodded moving his lead filled feet towards the door, but stopped turning around, "I don't resent you, Logan. I never have. I never will." With that he shut the door and closed his eyes. Had he just lost his son entirely?

* * *

Logan was afraid to move. The door closing echoed in his mind. He was alone and yet afraid to move, because the smallest stir would result in him breaking down. At a loss of how to carry himself he kicked the coffee table, sending it into perdition. Drawing in a deep but shaky breath he turned and leaned against the pool table. The wine bottle holding Rory's rose caught his eye and he angrily gripped it flinging it through the room to join the coffee table.

Rory undid her coat and shook the snowflakes of the red fabric before hanging it on the coat rack. The apartment was pitch-black and so silent you could hear a pin drop. She wondered where Logan was; how the conversation with his father had gone. She had called him after her class but got his voicemail instead and now she wondered where he was, slightly worried. Somehow she had a feeling that conversation hadn't gone by while it was raining roses and she hoped he was with Finn and Colin. That was part of the reason why she jumped back at the sight of him sitting on the couch in the dark.

"You scared me," she breathed willing her heart rate down, "Why are you sitting in the dark?"

She turned on one of the lamps but he had yet to say a word.

"Logan?"

He then looked at her with red-rimmed eyes and she realized he had been crying.

"Baby?" she hurried to him placing a hand on his cheek, "Say something. What happened?"

His hands reached up for her hips and he drew her in between his legs, leaning his forehead against her stomach. Awkwardly she slung her arms around him, running a hand through his hair. She had never seen him like this: this quiet, this sad. It scared her and she wasn't sure what

to do. In the corner of her eye she noticed the coffee table sadly lying in the corner like a beetle on his back, unable to get up. Shattered glass was scattered around it.

"Logan, please." She tried to make him look at her but he resisted and damp fingertips told her that new tears were running down his cheeks. She sighed sitting down on his knee and pulling up his head with both her hands. When she finally met his soggy eyes, her thumb brushed away a tear threatening to fall and she gave him a small smile, before gathering him in her arms in a long and silent hug.

* * *

He wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep, since he had been staring at the ceiling long after Rory's breathing had slowed down and she was in a deep sleep, hugging his arm, but it was a ray of sunlight that woke him up. He squinted and turned his head, only to find the other side of the bed empty. Slinging his legs over the edge he noticed the faint sound of running water and followed it into the bathroom. Without a second thought he pulled the faded Yale-t-shirt over his head kicking off his sweats at the same time and entered the dark green tile walk-in shower. She was facing him with her back, her fingers cleansing her hair. He smirked snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her close.

"Morning," he said kissing her shoulder, the first words he had uttered since she had walked in the room the previous night. He had been unable to speak, unable to voice how he felt, unable to explain. He still didn't want to talk about it, but at least the chocking lump in his throat was gone.

"Hey," she leaned into his embrace before turning around. He had scared her the previous night. He looked better, much better. The bedroom look in his eyes made her knees weak as it did every time and she couldn't resist kissing him. Logan was more than eager to participate in this, bruising her lips with his need, certain body parts rising at the feel of her bare slippery skin.

"Well good morning to you too," Rory grinned.

He leaned his forehead against hers and met her eyes silently asking permission. She had no idea how much he needed her. How much he needed someone to hold. Someone he didn't always had to be strong for like his sister; someone close unlike Rose. Someone that could drain away his pain with one kiss, one touch.

"Logan…" she looked at him pleadingly expecting an explanation for his dire state the previous night; one he couldn't give.

"Please, Ace," he drew out kissing the spot where her shoulder met her neck.

"Tell me what happened."

He sighed.

"The usual, Ace…what did you expect? Some kind of miracle?"

"No, but he came to talk to you. That's a first, isn't it?"

She watched him shrug, his expression darken.

"Are you still mad?" she asked.

"Mad? At you? Why would I be mad?"

Rory shrugged,

"For the way I talked to your dad, for letting him in…I don't know, Logan, you have been giving me the cold shoulder ever since New York."

"I'm not. And I don't. I'm sorry if I'm a little dejected about my father being a complete asshole! Or about you butting in and thinking that you can fix everything."

Rory looked at her feet. He still was mad and that made her mad.

"You know standing up for your sorry ass was not something I intended to do that night. It wasn't a thought-out mission. He came up to me and I told him how I felt. Not to impress you or him, but because I love you, so if you are going to be like this…screw you. I have apologized enough." She walked past him out of the shower grabbing a towel on the way and willing her tears away.

"Rory…" Logan called after her, "Hey!"

To emphasize her point she slammed the door shut. He closed his eyes, jaw clenched. Why did he feel like he was losing control? Control of emotion and of reason. He fought the urge to go knock on Finn's door, pick up Colin and hit Vegas. Not too long ago a few days at the Bellagio was all it took to make the world a brighter place, but lots of things had changed. The biggest one being the woman in the other room. The woman who was the cause and the cure of the shitty state he was in. He was angry with her for it and at the same time he loved her for it. A contradicting emotion that made him act like an asshole and truthfully he was unsure how to escape this limbo. With a sigh he turned off the shower and grabbed a towel from the rack. He knocked on the bedroom door, knowing it was unlocked, yet hoping she would ask him in. She didn't. He gently opened the door pleadingly calling her name once more. She was frantically looking for something in the closet, throwing heaps of clothes on the bed.

"Rory…" he drawled with a sigh. She kept buzzing around the room, now going through the dresser, opening one drawer than another, completely ignoring him standing in the doorway.

"Rory, stop!" he raised his voice desperately.

"I can't find my Bangles t-shirt," she stated angrily and continued her rampage without looking at him.

"Rory, please, would you stop and look at me?" He grabbed her by her shoulders pulling her away from the dresser, his grip unyielding when she tried to struggle her way out.

"Let go of me!" she flew out at him crossly her eyes spitting fire, but despite the hostility he saw something else in them as well: doubt. Doubt he chose to ignore.

"I can't do that," he told her honestly. A few months ago, yes, he would have let her go, but not now. He wondered if ever. She jerked in his grasp and he pushed her against the wall, tightening his grip.

"Would you stop with the running already?!" he yelled in frustration.

Rory seized to fight him, his grasp starting to sting painfully. She looked at him, the plea in his eyes, aggravation and regret on his face. She wanted so bad to tell him that **he **was doing all the running, all the avoiding, that she didn't know what to do anymore to help him, and that him grasping on to her started to hurt, that she didn't know how long she could take this anymore, that despite her best efforts to pull him out of the deep hole he was in he was only sinking deeper and dragging her with him.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I've been a jerk to you and I'm sorry." There were too many sorry's in their relationship. Too many apologies and too much tiptoeing and she wanted to tell him, to force him to see, but she couldn't. One look into his mesmerizing hazel eyes, eyes that seemed to only be so gentle towards her, prohibited her brain to do anything that might mean the end of them. Because if there was one thing that had drifted to the surface over the past few days, it was that he didn't deal well with confrontation, despite his own adamant conviction otherwise.

"These past few days…they have been so intense for me. I know that's a lame excuse, but I **am **sorry. I'm sorry, Ace. It's not you I'm mad at. It's him. Showing up like that and pretending to be the caring father after all these years. It just… I don't want to talk about it anymore or think about it. I'm sorry," he continued.

She kept staring at him wanting to believe him, needing to believe him.

"Say something," he urged.

"You're-" This was her last chance to spill it all. She closed her eyes, she couldn't, "You're hurting me." Maybe she would never be able to, maybe – although the thought ached- this would drive them apart. He loosened his grip letting his hands slide down her bare arms till they reached hers. He laced their fingers together and pulled her closer as he lowered his head, placing kisses on the red marks his hands had left on her flesh.

"Forgive me?" He asked looking up to her.

Rory sighed and shook her head.

"There is nothing to forgive." Her fingers found their way into his unruly wet locks. He smirked lightly.

"Did you notice that we are wearing matching outfits?" he then asked as his hands slowly started traveling up her thighs. She snickered hooking a finger in the towel around his waist, his hands firmly on her butt.

"Or lack there of…" she offered when the towel pooled around his feet.

"Or lack there of," he echoed hoisting her up against the wall. Unthinkingly she hooked her legs around his waist and met his waiting lips. It was not a satisfying end to this fight, and she still hadn't gotten an answer as to what had happened the previous night, but at the moment she needed him as much as he needed her. She needed his rough but loving touch, his breath mingling with hers. She needed to hold on to him. She needed a release… TBC

**AN: And that was that :) The next chapter might take longer than a few days lol, but I'll do my best!! Please review! Pretty Please with a cherry on top!**


	21. One Tequila, Two Tequila, Floor

Chapter 22

**A/N: So my computer broke down and it is still not back to me but I could get my hands on the old laptop from a friend so here I am with a quick update. It is rather pointless. I agree lol, but I needed to have something to fill the time gap between the last chapter and the next one involving them going to Round Hill to visit Rose. So yes, this is a major filler, but I hope you can enjoy it nonetheless :) The next chapter is well on the way, but I have finals coming up so I don't know when I'll get to finish it. Let's hope soon :). In the meantime a huge thanks for all your wonderful reviews! Please read,(hopefully enjoy), and leave some more ;)**

**Cheers! **

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything except what's mine ;)**

**Chapter 21**

"**One tequila, two tequila, floor."**

"Hmm what do you think of this?" Rory turned around only to see Logan leaning against a marble horse's head. Not only that, it had fake flowers sticking out of it. She cocked an eyebrow. Two weeks had passed since the Mitchum incident and she still didn't know what exactly had happened, but after their fight and the passionate make up they had fallen back in their routine. The subject of Mitchum was shunned with utter carefulness and she tried to just get past the fact that he didn't want to talk about it. However, this…this she couldn't get past.

"You want to give your aunt a stone horse with carnations sticking out of its head for her 39th birthday?"

"Well she lives on a horse farm." He explained himself.

Rory gaped at him.

"What is wrong with you?! It's like between 5 minutes ago and now someone sucked your brain out through your nose. The other 2 suggestions had at least a humorous touch."

"I'm just brainstorming!" he shot back.

"You are clearly not, because that actually involves a brain. You cannot give that to Rose. That's just…" She cocked her head to take another look, "ugly."

"It's a postmodernist piece of art!"

"Oh is that what it says on the card? Are you really sure it's not: 'If you are seriously considering buying this artifact you are in dire need of psychiatric help'?" He sighed, slumming his shoulders. She was ruthless. Oh who was he kidding, she was right and he was absolutely out of ideas. He didn't have any to begin with and now they were standing in a dodgy art gallery with on one side a horses head with carnations sticking out of it and on the other a painting of a giant orange penis. At least there were no carnations...

"Shall we go?" She asked, "Or are you really considering buying that…thing for Rose? If you are I think I'm considering institutionalizing you. I seriously prefer the Arnold Schwartznegger nutcracker you suggested earlier over…this." She gestured at the equestrian statue.

"I just don't know what to get her! I used to be good at this! I can buy presents. Presents people actually love. And today it's just not working. Logan has left the building." He sighed and rubbed his face.

"No, Logan is leaving the building now." She took his hand, "Let's go get a cup of coffee. We need to recuperate. Come up with a plan B. A new strategy."

"Rory for president," he mumbled as she dragged him out the door and into the fresh air.

* * *

"Let's get her some…boots." Rory was hanging upside down from the couch.

"Boots?" She looked over to Logan who was laying on top of the pool table. After 5 hours of fruitless searching for a present for Rose Rory too had come to feel slightly pooped .

"I don't know and would you stop doing that? Remember last time you decided to do acrobatic stunts? You nearly split your skull on the kitchen floor like a ripe melon." He motioned to her position on the couch.

"There is nothing in there anyway. What is the matter with us? We have sunk as low as to ask Finn for help," she sighed.

"I have no idea..." They didn't get much time to mull about that one as the intercom zoomed.

"Can't move," Rory moaned.

Logan sighed and got off the table. On his way to the door he pulled Rory up and set her on the couch in a vertical position, yet the moment he let go of her she slummed on the cushions and declared she was boneless chicken. He shook his head and buzzed up whoever it was at the door without giving it much thought. A few moments later the door was torn open and Finn bounced into the apartment like a kangaroo on the loose.

"The reinforcements are here!" he yelled, a tequila bottle in one hand and a little box in the other, "After you called me in despair, I went and got our beloved Rose the perfect present!"

"A bottle of tequila?" Rory mumbled from the couch.

"What is up with you, love!?" he asked incredulously, "As if I would ever give Rose a bottle of booze…on itself! I brought this!" He extended the hand holding the package as if it was a piece of gold in a wrapper.

"What is it?" Logan asked plopping down on the couch next to Rory who now too was curiously eyeing the box in Finn's hand.

"It is…drum roll please…" he opened the box, "The windup hopping lederhosen!" Two pairs of raised eyebrows turned to look at the little plastic object and then at Finn's proud face.

"It's a what?" Rory asked looking at Logan.

"I have no idea." They watched in dumbfounded amazement as Finn wound up the lederhosen and set it on the coffee table. It indeed did its name justice. It hopped itself right off the rim. Neither one of them could find a coherent thing to say. It was just…so utterly pointless and Finn's enthusiasm felt so displaced.

"Come on, mate! Lederhosen! Bavaria 2001! Oktoberfest! Traditional folk costume worn by people in Bavaria? How can you not remember!"

"I remember the Oktoberfest, Finn… and I understand the concept of lederhosen…what I do not understand is the meaning of windup hopping lederhosen to Rose…or me for that matter. Why would someone make that? Why would you buy that?"

Finn glared at them.

"Don't ask what the point of this thing is! Don't ask me why someone would make that and as far as the buying goes. I will show you the brilliance of the windup hopping lederhosen with this." He held up the bottle of tequila.

"Logan," Rory started leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Mhm?"

"We don't have a gift for your aunt and her birthday is in a week." He nodded patting her knee as Finn disappeared in the kitchen to get them some glasses.

* * *

A bottle of tequila later the hopping lederhosen had hopped about everywhere it was possible. The cabinets, the pool table, across the floor, the counter and Rory's leg. And with each hop it made more and more sense. They were what they were and that was about all one had to understand. Logan doubled over in another round of laughter as they hopped over Finn's butt cheek.

"My fair friends," Finn honed, "If there were more lederhosen and tequila on this planet, there would be world peace."

"I will drink to that!" Rory jumped on the couch and nearly tumbled backwards as her balance left her in the lurch. Logan chuckled. He was not going to pretend he was sober, but Rory, Rory was plain sloshed. He had never seen her like that since she had never been an excessive drinker, but today something seemed off with all of them.

"I looooove you!" She exclaimed and took a leap in to his **not **waiting arms. Her weight made him fall backwards on top of Finn who screamed in agony. Rory started laughing and Logan could not help but join her as Finn huffed and puffed under them.

"The hosen! OW! Get off! Get off of my back and the hosen! They are still hopping! They are hopping into my spine!"

Still laughing they rolled off of him and Rory wiped her tears. Finn squirmed like a fish on dry land and peeled the hopping lederhosen out of his back.

"Oh no!" he then yelled, "You killed it! It's not hopping anymore!"

"No!" Rory gasped. All 3 of them stared at the little thing that just wouldn't hop. Logan poked it and it fell over.

"What will we give Rose now?" Rory wondered out loud and ran her hands through her hair.

"This sucks," Finn groaned still flat on the floor.

"We need music," Logan declared getting up from the floor, "And more booze."

"Yes! I want to dance with you, Finn!" Rory laughed, "I have always wanted to do that with you!"

"I can't feel my legs," Finn grumbled as Logan fumbled with the stereo.

Rory raised her hand and smacked his butt with her tongue stuck out. The sound echoed through the apartment.

"OUCH!"

"See? You can feel. Now get up! Let's daaahaance!" She laughed getting up and finding her balance against the pool table.

"That was my arse! Totally different nerve group!"

"Oh my God. Eu frikkin' reka!" Logan exclaimed putting his arms around Rory who leaned against him and let herself go limp, "I know what to give her! Finn write this down! Bob Dylan The Freewheelin'! I had seen this vintage 1963 record online a week ago. Rose will be over the moon! Can't believe I didn't think of it sooner. And then we can dig through old pictures of her…make a compilation on screen! What do you think, Ace?"

"How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a maaaaan," she sang hanging in his arms like a sack of potatoes.

"I'll take that as a yes then…" he chuckled, "Did you write it down, Finn?"

"One moment…What.do.you.think.Ace. How.Many.Roads…." He frantically scribbled on a piece of paper.

"You can stop now, Finn," he laughed.

"I don't feel so good," Rory then said burying her face in her hands looking pale as a sheet of paper.

"Okay…hold on," he said dragging her to the bathroom. They both collapsed on the cool tile floor and Rory reached for the toilet bowl. He gathered her hair in his hand and held it out of her face as she was sick.

"Feeling better?" he asked as she tried to scramble up.

"No…" With that she hugged the toilet again.

"Well you know what they say: One tequila, two tequila, floor," he chuckled, "I think you are partied out for today." He felt for her. That was going to be one mean hangover the next day.

"Come, I'll help you in bed," he said when she flushed.

"No. I'm just gonna sleep here," she protested laying down on the floor and closing her eyes as the cold tiles offered some relief.

"Don't be silly, come on." He tried to pull her up

"No...please just leave me here," she begged. He sighed and grabbed a towel sliding it under her head, getting up from the floor and letting her be.

"How is reporter girl?" Finn asked pouring himself another drink

"Hammered," he let himself fall back on the couch suddenly tired, an anticlimax in comparison to just 20 minutes ago.

"Where is she?"

"Bathroom." He shook his head as Finn held up the bottle.

"You just left her there?"

"For now." He sighed, "I'm kind of partied out. How bout you?"

"The Finn-man is NEVER partied out!" he declared saluting with his drink and pouring it in his mouth.

* * *

Rory's awakening was met by a ray of sunlight and a stabbing pain. She moaned and buried her head under the covers. She didn't even remember getting in bed.

"Morning, miss Tequila, or well…good afternoon. How are you feeling?" Logan's far too happy voice filled her ears and amplified the stabbing pain in her head. She grunted.

"Just as I thought. Hence, I have something for you." He pulled the covers off her head and she opened one eye to see a glass in his hand filled with a dodgy green substance.

"What is that?" she asked groggily.

"Finn's magic potion. Will knock that hangover right out of you," he smirked.

"By sending me into a coma? I just need a cup of coffee," she grunted.

"Well you see that is a common mistake. Most people just blindly stretch out their shaky hand to the coffeepot since it of course holds the cure to all ailments, except for hangovers. See you are dehydrated and since caffeinated beverages aggravate said dehydration, you should really stay away. Instead…you should try Finn's quaff," he explained patiently and sat down next to her on the bed.

"You are hurting my brain!" she exclaimed.

"I'm gonna set this down here," he said setting the glass on the nightstand, "And I'm gonna leave you here to be, miss Sauerkraut, all alone. I'm going to New York."

"Now?"

"Yes. I called the guy with the record for Rose. Going to pick it up now. Do you need something? Besides a new liver?"

"I'm so not laughing," she grumbled.

"Well," he kissed the top of her head, "feel better, drink that potion and please…when you feel up for it: take a shower."

Rory let out a complaining moan, wondering how on earth he could be this quirky after their tequila bench party last night.

"Oh and don't freak out. Finn is sleeping in the bath tub. Unfortunately naked." She heard the door falling in its lock and sighed. Suddenly her eyes popped open. She needed to pee. How was she supposed to pee with Finn in the bath tub?!

"Logan?" she weakly called without result. Good God, she was never going to drink again in her life. She eyed the green goo Logan had left on the nightstand and reached out for it, pulling it closer. As she brought her nose above and sniffed it a new wave of nausea flushed her body. She set the drink on the stand again and buried her nose in the covers. No chance in hell was she going to drink that. Good ol' aspirin and – despite whatever Logan was saying- a cup of steaming coffee would help her right on track. Rolling herself out of bed as a geriatric log of wood she tried to get herself in a vertical position, but she got hit by vertigo and had to seek support in the wall. In the kitchen she got herself a glass of water, regretting it immediately as her blather urgently reminded her it was not a bottomless pit. Crap. Gathering all the will she could muster she made her way into the bathroom and nearly ran out again as she saw Finn's hairy leg hanging out of the tub and a loud snore echoing through the green tiled space. However, this was an emergency, one that she could not ignore. She grabbed the duck shaped bath pillow and approached the tub as quietly as possible. Then without thinking she flung the pillow on his exposed crotch. That wasn't so bad. Step two was making it to the toilet. She looked at it with longing her hands on her hips ready to pull down her hello kitty shorts. She took a deep breath, eyeing Finn in the bath tub. He looked dead. He was not going to wake up at the right moment as she pulled down her pants. That would be too much of a coincidence. Yes. She could do it. Like ripping off a band aid. One…Two… She tore down the shorts and almost fell in the toilet in her hurry to get her butt on the seat. Good. He had not woken up. Step three… Step three wouldn't come. She was too tense. She simply could not pee with a drunk Australian in her tub.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god," she mumbled, "Think big wide open spaces… no. **Small **closed spaces with nooo Australians." She took a deep breath. "I CAN'T DO IT!" Her cry echoed through the room and Finn wildly jumped up from the tub. She screamed her hand reaching for the toilet brush and flinging it at him. He screamed as well his eyes the size of saucers. They looked at each other in horror and screamed again. Rory's heart was beating so hard she was sure it was going to break through her ribcage.

"Where am I?!" Finn yelled.

"Don't look!" she replied grabbing a towel, "Get out!"

"What?!"

"GET OUT!" she yelled pointing at the door. Finn seemingly disoriented got up in the tub. The duck shaped bath pillow pressed to his groin.

"NOW!" she repeated as he lifted one leg and shakily set it on the floor. Unfortunately the other one got caught and he landed on the floor mooning the world with his white hairy Australian butt.

Yet he managed to crawl out of the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Rory put a hand on her chest trying to calm her heart down. What a morning.

* * *

Feeling relieved she left the bathroom and saw Finn sitting on a barstool still profusely naked. The duck was sitting in his lap. Great. Now she couldn't use either one of them ever again.

"Coffee?" she asked, "Or would you like your brew? It's on my night stand."

"Brew please, love."

She planted it in front of his nose and watched in horror as he gulped it down and burped. At times like these she was grateful for her coffeemaker and pressed the button.

"Finn," she then said, "He can not know this. EVER." Finn grinned sheepishly but at the sight of her dagger throwing eyes he gravely nodded.

"Never."

"And I want another duck shaped bath pillow."

"What is wrong with this one?" he asked holding it up.

"Just…hold it down there. Please." Rory flinched pouring her mug full of coffee and sat down across from him.

"Finn?" she then asked sipping her coffee and feeling the salvation seeping through her, "Where are your clothes?"

"I have no idea."

TBC


	22. Running for the Hills

**AN: First of all I have to say I was rather disappointed at the lack of reviews. Now I understand the chapter was a filler and so did not really contribute to the story, but it really made me realize how nice it is to get reviews. It's always cause for extra encouragement since I am writing for an audience and it's nice to have a reaction. Positive or negative (I prefer constructive). Anyhow, thank you for those who did leave me a message. They are all greatly appreciated. :)**

**Secondly, this chapter holds some **_GRAPHIC CONTENTS_** yet I did not deem it explicit enough to up the rating. I usually write said scenes in a way that they can be omitted from the story without loss of context, but in this chapter I have failed to do so. Therefore my apologies. **

**Thirdly, again this chapter does not show much progress, but for some reason my chapter get so long. lol. So I am keeping a chappie or 3 in mind for the events of Rose' birthday. For that too I apologize I can't really help it, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. **

**Now without further due. Chapter 22. Enjoy! And please review :) **

**Eva.**

**Disclaimer: **Do not own Gilmore Girls.

**Chapter 22**

"**Running for the Hills" **

"Come on! Wake up!"

Logan groaned when his (soon to be ex) girlfriend launched herself at him and poked his cheek.

"WAKE.UP. Let's go!" She shouted in his ear.

He managed to open one eye and peered at the alarm clock that in bright red digits indeed confirmed that the woman laying on top of him was out of her mind.

"It's 4 freakin' 30 in the morning, Rory. Go to sleep!" He growled and hid his head under the pillow.

"No. Let's go! You can sleep when you're dead. If we leave now we can be there before noon." She shook his shoulder and when that didn't work decided that her teeth would do a better job.

"Ouch! Have you lost your mind?!" He rubbed the sore spot she had just viciously attacked and pushed her off of him.

"How much coffee did you have?"

"4 mugs and I have some waiting for you in the kitchen as a bowl of cereal and a bagel. The paper isn't there yet, but you can watch CSPAN. Do you love me or what? If I had your slippers ready I would totally give Lucy a run for her money," she chirped.

"The paper isn't there yet because all normal people – unlike you – sleep at 4.30 in the morning! Even Lucy! As for the loving you. I totally dislike you right now."

"You know you don't mean that."

"Oh I mean that. Now leave me alone and wake me in at least 4 hours!" He closed his eyes again and turned off the light on the bedside. However, not even a whole 30 seconds later an audible click and a red gaze behind his eyelids told him it was once more shining bright. A fraction of a moment later his covers were brutally pulled off of his body and he shivered when the cool air hit his skin.

"Rory!" he exclaimed. She was acting like a maniac much like Finn's windup hopping lederhosen.

"Logan!" He suddenly knew very well how it had to feel to be in an army boot camp. It wouldn't surprise him if that turned out to be more pleasant and if she was not going to seize the madness right this second he was going to enlist. She had been bouncing off the walls for a week now about going to Rose' for her birthday, but this was pushing the amount he could handle.

"This is abuse! You, Gilmore, are abusing me! I am stuck in an abusive relationship!"

It was silent for a moment and he felt the mattress shift under another weight. Unable to open his eyes he prepared himself for poking, hitting, biting, or any other painful ordeal she could possibly throw his way. Instead she placed a trail of kisses on his jaw.

"Pleaaaase." Sure, there was the worst one of all: begging, "Pretty please with whipped cream and a cherry on top." He had to be strong. She surely had to stop some time.

"Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please!" The kisses traveled to his neck, his collar bone and shoulder. Then he heard her sigh and lay her head down on the pillow. Finally, victory! It was unfortunately short-lived.

"PUHLEAAASE!" He flinched and let out a frustrated roar before opening his eyes.

"Fine! I'm up! Jesus Christ!" He slung his legs over the edge of the bed and turned his head to give her a grouchy look. She was laying on her side, her head propped up with her hand, looking at him with big innocent eyes and a sweet smile on her face.

His body almost ached as he made his way into the kitchen and sat down at the counter burying his head in his hands and rubbing his face. Rory wasn't far behind him and sat down on the adjoining stool pushing the mug of steaming coffee within his reach. He lifted it up and put his lips to the rim, taking a careful sip. She was staring at him, with sparkly eyes like a kid on Christmas morning waiting till it was time to open the presents. That thought however was too quirky at this time of day and he preferred to look at her as a druggy on speed, which in a caffeinated way she was.

"What?" he asked her when she didn't seize the staring, "I'm up, aren't I?"

"Yep, you are." She bobbled her head in agreement, "Now, drink faster." He set down the mug and gave her an exasperated glare to which she only charmingly batted her eyelashes. The money he would pay to be able to truly from the bottom of his heart hate her. Unfortunately that luxury seemed not to be for sale.

* * *

The sun was already well on it's way up when the silver loan car turned on the sandy road towards Round Hill. It was so much different than the last time Rory had been there. The sheet of white was largely gone except for a lost muddled patch here and there. The trees were, short for a few pines, barren, the grass a filthy brown. Yet it still breathed that something special and when the stone manor appeared from behind the hill she was once again struck by the beauty of this place. She looked at Logan, who suppressed a yawn and put her hand over his, giving it a light squeeze. He met her eye and reciprocated a smile when she leaned in and kissed his cheek. She was going to make up for the brutal way she dragged him out of bed that morning. Nevertheless she wasn't sorry she had. She had looked forward to this weekend with so much eagerness that those last few hours had nearly made her go insane. This place was always going to have a special place in her heart. Not only for its magnificent location and its utterly lovable inhabitants. It was the beginning of them. It was the place where she finally started figuring out Logan, a place that deepened her love for him, a place that led to them being together and a place that caused her to return. Maybe without Rose' help and without the things she had learned here, they would be a distant memory instead of something she hoped would last in the future. She also hoped that this would tackle the new strain on their relationship, since it seemed to stir something in Logan last time. Maybe he could open up to her about his father, seeing as he still avoided the subject like the plague and each time she tried to pry something out of him chose to turn sour.

The car ceased and the engine stopped running.

"We're here," Logan sighed unbuckling his safety belt.

"We are." Rory smiled radiantly and opened the door hopping out of the car. Her feet had barely touched the ground when a hurdle of K-9's came storming around the corner.

"Napoleon!" she exclaimed happily when the smallest one of the 4 bounced up against her leg, his tail seemingly wagging him instead of the other way round. The rest of them stayed a few feet away, the monotonous barking not scaring her this time round. She crouched and scratched the Chihuahua's ear as Logan opened the trunk.

"What is going on here? Doggies! Back off!" Rory looked up and the familiar female voice came indeed attached to a bunch of scarlet curls and shining green eyes.

"Can I help you?" Rose asked coming closer.

"Well I don't know," Logan started pulling a bag out of the trunk, "We are here to see a man about a horse."

"Logan!" A radiant smile appeared on her face, "And… Rory?" Rory got up from the ground and smiled. Rose enveloped her into a tight hug.

"So very nice to see you, hon! I didn't recognize your car."

"It's a loaner," Logan explained coming closer, "My old one is probably at the junkyard. There was a run in with a moose."

"Oh my God! Are you okay? Is he okay, Rory?! He looks tired. Are you okay?! Were you in the car too?!"

Logan chuckled kissing her cheek.

"I'm fine, Rory is fine. Everyone is fine… except for my car and the moose. As for the being tired part I think you should ask Rory. It was after all she, who dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night. "

"You two are early. It's only 10."

"I couldn't sleep," Rory shrugged.

"Hear that?" Logan shouted from the back of the car again, "**She **couldn't sleep!"

Rose winked at her taking her arm.

"Come on, I'll make you some coffee. Hurry up, Logan."

Both women giggled when he groaned mumbling something about being dictated and ordered around as they made their way inside. The house hadn't changed. As grand as it was on the outside, as welcoming and warm it was on the inside. The mob of dogs scurried past them. The only thing now missing was Frank. Rory expected him to appear in nothing but an apron each moment now. Yet they turned into the kitchen and there was no sign of Frank's presence.

"Frank is in town," Rose voiced her thoughts grabbing a set of mugs and the steaming coffee pot. "We didn't expect you so early."

"I didn't expect us here so early either," Logan agreed sitting down and grabbed a cookie from a large plate sitting on the counter.

"So…." Rose started, filling three mugs to the rim and setting them on the counter, "How many bedrooms do you two need? Two like last time? Or will one suffice?"

"One is fine," Rory smiled.

"Definitely two," Logan said gravely, "and I want mine with a lock on the door, preferably two."

"Oh, Rory," Rose laughed, "What have you done to him? Broken in to his apartment and set his bed on fire?"

"Breaking in?" Rory snickered, "I did no such thing."

"The wonders of living together…" Logan sighed sipping his coffee.

"Living together you say?" Her eyes sparkled as she gave Rory a radiant smile, her glance holding a silent 'I-told-you-so' in it, "When did this happen?"

"Last month."

"Last month… So this is relatively new, huh?" Her smile reminded Rory of the Cheshire cat in Alice in wonderland.

"And short lived. After today we are so over. I want you out by next week," he declared.

"No you don't," Rory grinned slinging her arms around his neck and brought her lips to his ear, "Who else would wear the black lace boy shorts?" she whispered.

He turned his head, his eyes wide. He was such a guy. She smirked.

"Are you?" he asked incredulously.

"I might."

"You are ruthless today."

Rose watched the display with amusement, thrilled to see the girl back, and overjoyed to find Logan so whipped by her. She was good for him, whether she knew it or not. And something she had suspected the first time he brought her here, now shone through clearly: He loved her to bits. She had known deep down that such a girl would cross his path at one time or another, a girl who would persuade him to settle. It made her all that more happy that that girl was Rory.

"If you want to lay down for a couple of hours, Logan, your usual room is ready as always…" she offered.

"I think I will. How it is you function, I will never understand," He told Rory kissing her cheek and unhooking her arms from around his neck, "You two, be good." With that he disappeared around the corner.

"So I take from this you are 'defined' now?" Rose winked and Rory could not help but blush slightly, "I told you it would play out well."

"Yeah… I guess you did." She smiled taking a sip of coffee.

* * *

An hour of coffee, cookies, and Rose' company later, the redhead had to get back in the saddle and Rory, Rory decided that she was going to lay down as well. If there would be sleeping was highly doubtful, but laying down she would do…and make up for being such a pain that morning.

" Uhu…you go do that," Rose winked and Rory's head turned into an oversized tomato. The woman had either freakishly mind reading skills or she had a sign on her forehead saying naughty things.

"I'm just tired…that coffee buzz is working off…" she mumbled.

"Sure!" Rose flashed her perfect teeth.

"Really!"

"Uhu." Before Rory could come up with a convincing protest Rose was out the door. Rory sighed and rubbed her flushed face, before climbing the stairs and quietly opening the door of their bedroom. The closed orange curtains didn't block the sun entirely, instead they enveloped the room into a peaceful golden glow. In bed, on top of the comforter lay Logan. His chest slowly moved up and down as he breathed in and out, his arm draped over his stomach. She watched him for a while, so serene and carefree in almost a boyish way and suddenly felt exhausted herself. Stepping out of her shoes she made her way to the bed and laid down curling up besides him. With a smile she lifted up his arm and draped it around her shoulder as her head found its way on his chest. He moved and she bit her lip laying as still as possible hoping he wouldn't wake up. He didn't. His arm tightened around her and he let out a deep sigh. Rory closed her eyes and drew in his scent, so compelling, sexy, so distinguishingly him. At times she still wondered what a guy like him was doing with a girl like her and yet laying in his arms felt so safe and a sense of belonging and satisfaction seeped into her soul. Of all the things she doubted or felt insecure about it was never his love for her. How could something feel so right otherwise? She finally saw what had been missing with both Dean and Jess. Dean had loved her, unfortunately no matter how hard she had tried she could not reciprocate that love. Sure she had loved him and he had been the best first boyfriend a girl could have, but there was never that want, that need, that deep connection. Jess she might have loved at a certain point and vice versa, however they had never had good timing: not when it started, not when it ended. She wondered at times how he was doing, what he was doing, she hoped he was happy and in a way they would always be kindred souls, but unfortunately nothing more. It just hadn't been written in the stars. And then there was Logan, with his on first sight entirely opposite personality, completely different background, and yet….everything felt so right. There was not a place in the world she would rather be than here in this bed, with his arm tightly around her. She had grown so much with him, because of him. He had pushed her off so many scaffoldings and with every jump she made she loved him more. He had supported her yet never honed to criticize her either. It had surprised her how wise he could be in tough situations, how logical and caring. Except for one…his own. Logan Huntzberger could conquer the world, but the monsters in his own closet were eating him up from inside. Maybe this place would do him good. Maybe he would open up towards her. Maybe she could help him. Her mind became drowsy and she tried to open her eyes but a deadweight was sitting on either of them. She surrendered.

* * *

Logan became aware of the sound of chirping birds, rhythmic hammering in the distance and the cracking of floorboards as someone walked past the room. He also became aware of the weight on his arm and the fact that said weight let out a snore. He opened his eyes and looked at Rory, who let out another snore. Not very surprising since she was laying face down, her head buried in the pillows and his armpit. It was astonishing she could breathe at all. He tried to move but as always she let out a grunt, clawed her fingers in his flesh, and adjusted her position to the exact same discomfort. He chuckled and ran his hand down her spine, sneaking underneath her sweater, his fingers grazing the warm skin of her back, intentionally tickling her side. She twitched and groaned coaxing another chuckle. For a moment he closed his eyes again listening to the sounds around him, drawing imperceptible patterns on Rory's back and almost falling back in a slumber, but similarly to him, a hand sneaked under his sweater and shirt as fingernails lightly scraped over his abdomen. He only smirked, continuing the lazy blueprints on her skin. She suddenly moved and rolled away from him. He was about to open his eyes when her sleepy voice told him otherwise.

"Keep them closed." His arm fell back on the bed as he obeyed, his smirk still firmly in place. The seconds felt like hours as he heard soft the rustling of fabric.

"Now," she said, "look at me." He lifted his eyelids and drank in the sight of her creamy skin against the contrast of lush black lace. The swell of her chest, the soft curves of her hips, her endless legs, her abundant curls pooling over her shoulders and he realized that it was not the lingerie that made her look incredible. It was the fact that she was standing in the middle of the room, barely dressed and seemingly feeling comfortable with it, him staring at her. There had been a transformation in her since he first met her. Somewhere in those months she had transformed from a cute, shy girl, into a self-confident, stunning woman. He himself felt stuck. Stuck in the past, stack in the present, simply stuck. Yet, as long as he had her he was going to be ok…everything would be ok.

"Are you going to say something?" She asked, "Anything?"

"Come here." He smirked.

"Come here?" She cocked an eyebrow, setting her hands in her hips, "That's what you have to say? Because let me tell you these knickers are not nearly as comfy as they are promiscuous and I have been wearing them all day just for this moment, just because you begged me to, because I wanted to make up for this morning. And now all I get is ' come here'?"

He laughed and sat up against the headboard.

"Please."

With an eye roll and a sigh she came to him and he pulled her down to sit next to him.

"You look very sexy," he smirked.

"That's more like it," she chuckled with a slight blush, "However, I sense a but…"

"BUT," he grinned, "it is not the promiscuous knickers… seeing that I love you most when you only wear the moonlight and my kisses."

"Ouch, Huntzberger on the cheesy tour."

"Ha. Ha. I mean it. You are sexy…whatever you wear…or not wear," he winked.

"So grandma underpants are the next piece of undergarment I am going to purchase then."

"Don't push it," he grinned pulling her in for a kiss.

"So are my attempts to make up at least acknowledged?" she asked in between kisses, now straddling him her hand running down his bare chest. The lamp across the room had caught his sweater, the shirt was laying in the middle of the floor.

"Hmm…no…I think you need to convince me more," he mumbled nibbling on her bottom lip as his hands reached around her and he skillfully unhooked the black bra. The sight of her smooth skin was just so much better. Sliding the straps down her arms he nuzzled the valley between her breasts as she arched her chest up to him her head falling back in bliss as he replaced his nose with his lips. Rory buried her fingers in his messy locks keeping his head in place, grinding her hips against his and coaxing a moan. And then he suddenly stopped.

"Don't stop," she whimpered, her eyes firmly shut.

"Ehm…yes…please… continue," a foreign voice said and her eyes popped open and her head flicked around in plain horror. There stood Frank, looking like a moose after one too many fermented apples. Before her head could turn purple out of shame he had closed the door behind him and she could hear him make his way down the wooden stairs in a rapid pace, missing a step and only barely keeping from falling. She turned back to face Logan who opened his mouth ready to say something but burst out in laughter instead. She was too stunned to speak. Frank had just seen her in all her glory…

"He…" She started in a high-pitched voice sending Logan in a second wave of laughter. Before she knew it her hand collided with his cheek and the slap echoed through the room. He seized laughing and gaped at her as she, seemingly shocked herself covered her mouth with her hand.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry!"

"I.CANNOT.BELIEVE.YOU.JUST.DID.THAT!" he shouted with furrowed eyebrows.

"I'm sorry! I don't know what has gotten into me!" She felt horrible, "I really didn't intend to and I didn't- I'm-"

"I think you knocked a tooth out!"

"I-"

"I'm tasting blood. You could have disfigured me." His eye twinkled and she raised her eyebrow contemplating hitting him again.

"Are you contemplating hitting me again?" he voiced her thoughts.

"Yes."

"Please don't. You have a mean right hook there, Gilmore."

She sneered at him and he chuckled, his hands running up her sides again and he leaned in to kiss her. Rory, however, pushed him away.

"Oh come on…" he pleaded, "I was just kidding."

"It's not that. I can't-," She got off of the bed and started putting her clothes back on, "not after…I mean…" She stopped.

"Oh my God! I can never go down there again!" She stated in a raised whisper.

"Rory…"

"You will have to feed me! You will have to bring me food, because I can never go down there again in my life! I will die in this room!!" she rambled.

Logan sighed. Damn Frank. Now he needed a shower, a cold one to be precise. He got off the bed as Rory buttoned her pants.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Shower."

"I'm sorry. I just-"

"It's fine, Ace. But you are going down. I'm not gonna leave you up here for-"

"ETERNITY!" she cut him off.

"I was going for the weekend…but yes, okay, eternity," he chuckled.

As he disappeared in the bathroom and she heard him turning on the water she put on a pair of socks, and dug a book out of her bag. Curling up in the chair, she tried to block out the recent occurrences by losing herself in Northanger Abbey and the mystery surrounding Mrs. Tilney's death.

* * *

She had her nose in a book as he walked out of the bathroom feeling slightly more awake and slightly less turned on. Yet she, absentmindedly biting a nail as her eyes flew over the lines, made him ache for her once more. He grabbed a fresh undershirt from his bag and pulled it over his head, a clean white shirt followed. He threw it on and started buttoning it as Rory turned a page and then another one. He squinted to see what it was she was so entangled in and smirked.

"Hey, Catherine," he called.

"Huh?" she looked up a bit confused and he winked at her, "What do you say we go grab some lunch?"

She blinked a few times then shook her head.

"I'm not going down. EVER."

"I beg of you, miss Morland. It is not that big of deal. Frank is probably just as embarrassed as we are and everyone will pretend it has never happened."

She rolled her eyes and let him pull her off the chair and into his arms.

"I'm not going. So don't you smirk at me. I am perfectly fine up here."

"Now I MUST give one smirk, and then we may be rational again." She chuckled against his shoulder. He really did remind her of Henry, sarcastic, intuitive, clever with his witticisms and flirtations.

"Either come with me, Catherine, or be harassed by a queer, half-witted man."

"Boy, when you're on, you're on," she shook her head.

"Is that a yes?" He asked with smiling eyes.

"I guess," she sighed, "But one remark about it and I'm up here and one joke from you, Henry, and you will have to get used to manual labour."

"Ouch."

"As long as you know it."

"I love you, crazy lady." He leaned his forehead against hers and she returned his smile. Her heart still fluttered each time he uttered those words, for he seemed to use them sparingly, but when he did it showed in his eyes, made her feel warm and truly loved. She sighed closing her eyes.

"You're okay too…"

TBC…


	23. Giant Pink Elephants

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A/N: Alright, first of all I want to say: THAT'S MORE LIKE IT! You have no idea how helpful some of your reviews have been to me. Really: big big big thanks! I think this has been the best set of reviews I have ever gotten. :) Lots of constructive criticism and this is also why this update took me so long (way TOO long, I know and I apologize). I wanted to incorporate what you said in how I want things to proceed from now on, and seeing how off track I've gotten on my way to the final station…I had to lift this train back on the rails. So secondly, I apologize for seizing all development in the plot for 2 chapters and dragging you on. Thirdly, since I am not going to rewrite the last 10 chapters so that it suddenly IS a fluent line of events (I think that would result in me driving myself off a cliff) I am listing things here that have happened previously and are of importance for the upcoming course of events.

**There is of course the acceptance letter Rory has gotten from the internship in Paris. I have let go of the string attached to this problem and am going to pick it up right this second (it is between my teeth as we speak). **

**Then, there is the argument Rory had with Mitchum, leading to a rift between Rory and Logan (now more or less resolved) and a humongous fight between Mitchum and Logan after which Logan has become even more introvert when it comes to talking about his problems. Rory is excited that they are at Rose Hill, because she hopes things will start moving here. Now in the last chapter nothing much of importance happened, but I shall pick up at where we have left off. Frank walking in on a private moment between Rory and Logan. **

**So after this monstrous author's note, I would like to say: Oy with the Poodles already! I am hoping for the best! :) **

**Sincerely, **

**Eva**

**PS. I have developed the habit of posting update info on my profile…so if you want to see what's going on you can check there. :) **

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Do not own Gilmore Girls, just my stories…although sometimes it seems the stories own me instead… hmm.

**Chapter 23**

"**Giant Pink Elephants"**

Frank Wendell was a simple man, leading a fairly simple life. He got up at 5.30 in the morning, had his morning coffee, checked on the horses, instructed the staff on the ranch, picked up a task or two himself, then had lunch, only to get to work again, this till dinner, after which he spent a usually pleasant evening with his wife. Of course Round Hill had its problems and its tribulations, but not more or less than any other business. Life wasn't dull, so to speak. Yet it was also not unusually extreme to the point that he was laying awake at night. Now however, this was exactly what was going to happen. He was never going to be able to sleep again, nor look at his nephew and his girlfriend ever the same way again. He knew Logan Huntzberger was far from a virginal and untainted boy. He knew that if Rory was his girlfriend the two did not play tic-tac-toe before going to sleep in separate beds, waiting till marriage before consummating their relationship. He knew all that and yet, the scene he just accidentally witnessed was proof of the fact that somewhere he just blocked that part out and that ignorance was bliss. Both the ignorance and the bliss were now in tatters. How was he supposed to act? Pretend it didn't happen? That would be like pretending that there was not a huge pink elephant sitting in the room staring at him. Should he say something about it? That would probably result in even greater embarrassment for both parties. Moments like these he missed having children. Children would have given him combat experience. Now he was just being dropped in Vietnam in his undies and a pitchfork and told to tend to himself. Come to think of it…Nam was less scary. He let out a grave sigh and jumped up when all of a sudden Logan appeared in the doorway.

"Look, I just- and then- and-" he stammered.

Logan came closer and sat down at the counter grabbing a cookie from the always-present plate.

"Do you _really_ want to discuss this?" he asked taking a bite of his cookie.

"No. Is there an option that we don't?" Would you look at that. Apparently it was possible to ignore the elephant.

"Yes."

"So…we just don't talk about it."

"Exactly." It seemed simple. He took a deep breath. This was just like ripping off a band-aid.

"But really I-"

"Frank, you're talking about it," the boy deadpanned.

"Sorry," he cleared his throat and a silence filled the room. It seemed that with the ceasing of all talk about _it_, talk had seized altogether. He drummed his fingers against the counter, smacked his lips and opened the fridge inspecting the contents even though he had just consumed a sizable lunch. He took out a salami, put it back. The same thing happened with a carton of milk. He counted the eggs and concluded that they were almost out of yoghurt.

" Frank?" He turned around and took in an amused Logan.

"Yes?  
"Do you _want _to talk about it?"

"I just- I know you are grown up and all and that you are eh…sexually active, but eh…you are using an eh…_condom_?" He felt his cheeks heating up. Logan raised his eyebrows.

"I have not impregnated my girlfriend, if that's what you mean. She's on the pill."

He cleared his throat feeling awfully uncomfortable. The boy was turning the cookie between his fingers, his eyes sturdily fixed on the monotonous movement.

"Alright, but I mean…you are…. I guess what I meant to say was," he took a deep breath, "You have an _active _sex life." Logan's head shot up, his gaze balancing somewhere between anger and hurt and he immediately regretted his words. He had never agreed with his lifestyle, yet who was he to meddle with it. The boy's reply was bitter.

"I do not _sleep around, _if that's what you mean. So if you are afraid I might give her a STD, you really needn't be. If you want I can mail you the results of my last test."

"Logan…." Frank shook his head, "I didn't mean to attack your lifestyle. God, I don't even want to talk about this in the first place, but Rose and I… you have been kind of a son to us and well…we worry about you and…" he sighed, "I didn't mean to attack you. I just… I feel like a complete fool, because you are 24. You know the birds and the bees."

Logan let his eyes wander back to the cookie. He could not blame Frank for asking. Mere months ago…that was him; the man about town, promiscuous, not always _as _careful as he should have been. Mere months ago he didn't care. Looking back to those days, he barely recognized himself. Rory Gilmore had stirred something in him. Something that had been dormant for a very long time. For so long in fact, that he did not accept it as his own at first. It had taken him too long to realize that he was fighting the wrong thing, that he loved her.

"It's fine," he mumbled, "But know that I'm _not _sleeping around...anymore," he added.

Frank gave him a penitent smile, clasping his shoulder and giving it a light squeeze.

"Good. I apologize for barging in, but next time you feel the need to have sex under my roof, hang a sock on the door!"

Logan chuckled.

"Fair enough."With that Frank took a deep breath and walked out of the kitchen. It seemed he had survived. The pink elephant had dissolved.

* * *

"Thank you," Rory said as she wobbled in a regular slow rhythm on Buttercup's broad black back.

"Whatever for?" Logan turned to face her, seemingly more comfortable in the saddle than she was. Yet, the scenery and the serenity it offered – however barren at this time in march- made up a lot for the lack of gracefulness mounting a horse. She enjoyed it.

"For the way you handled the thing with Frank." She was indeed grateful. She could not summon herself to join him in the kitchen while Frank was there. So she had fled back upstairs with the excuse that she urgently needed to call her mother.

Logan pulled up a corner of his mouth into a smirk, ever so slightly tightening his grip on the reins as Chinook had the urge to dash.

"And how would you know how I handled the thing with Frank?" he goaded.

She quickly averted her gaze from him a slight smile playing on her lips as she pretended to study the trees nearby.

"I might have heard you…from the stairs…" It was a mumble, yet there was no ambiguity in her words. He let out a laugh.

"You woos!"

"I am not a woos!" she called out dejected, "I was caught…mounting you! Naked! That deserves _some _mortification!"

Logan's laugh amplified, the situation not having lost its hilarity just yet, nor Rory's adorable embarrassment.

"Ass…" she grumbled.

"And here I thought you were grateful!"

"And still you are an _ass_!" She snorted squinting her eyes when two figures in the distance drew her attention, "Who is that?" She pointed.

Logan followed her gaze.

"Might be the neighbours."

"Wendy?" she asked, to Logan's amusement not entirely concealing the hint of jealousy drenching that simple question.

"Mhm."

"Do you want to go and say hi?" she continued when he did not seem to elaborate.

"It's fine…" he answered her nonchalantly.

Rory studied his face. Why wasn't he going over? The last time he had seemed wild with enthusiasm at the sound of her voice, and her perfectly tweezed eyebrows and golden locks, her ability to look sexy in the least sexy outfit and… A chuckle brought her back to the here and now and she looked at Logan with a quizzical expression on her face.

"You are very cute when you're jealous" he remarked.

"I am n-"

"I can hear your brain spinning in circles. For once and for all, Ace, Wendy and I…we have been, are and always will be _just _friends. See the guy riding next to her," he nodded in their direction, "that is her fiancé Thomas. They are getting married in April."

Her face coloured red in embarrassment and she looked away feeling very much like a fool.

"I know that there is something wrong with her…I mean who wouldn't be attracted to me, but it is the way it is."

"You are awful," she sighed in relief whilst letting out a giggle.

"Let's go be neighbourly," he winked, spurring the horse slightly into a light trot. Rory followed trying to keep in the saddle as the wobble changed regularity. Perhaps she needed a lesson or two if they were going to do this more often.

* * *

"Well, well, well…if it's not Logan Huntzberger," Wendy laughed recognizing the rider, "It is surely not me you have come to visit, is it?" She halted her bay mare and dismounted her. Logan flashed her a grin doing the same and they met in an embrace.

"Let me look at you," he said holding her at arm's length, "You look queasy."

"Yeah well…" she sighed, "I feel queasy too. Stupid cold has been bugging me for 2 weeks now."

"You should see a doctor," he answered letting go of her and shaking the hand of the brown haired man, silently observing the exchange in pleasantries from his saddle.

"Thomas, have not seen you in ages."

"Have been telling her the exact same thing. As for the latter, you do not come by that often. _Yale_ keeping you busy?" He winked. A question that insinuated something he would usually have no trouble with, but today people hammering about his lifestyle were getting on his nerves. He forced a tight smile.

"It is actually." An uncomfortable silence set in and the outlandish feeling that they were all strangers filled the vast open space.

Rory could not help but feel Logan was tense. Perhaps it was because he was uncomfortable when people remarked about his way of life prior to her. That was the vibe she had picked up when she had overheard him talking to Frank, turning defensive the moment the issue arose. Then there was the reassurance mere moments ago that Wendy and he were just friends, and now turning sour because of Thomas' remark. Carefully as possible she tried to sling her leg over Buttercup's back and reach ground, her knuckles white from gripping everything that was in any way grip worthy. Buttercup's less than slender behind offered some difficulty however and Rory suspended herself from the horse holding on as tightly as possible.

"Logan…" Wendy started and nodded in the direction of the girl behind him doing the strangest thing she had witnessed a person doing on a horse.

"Oh God, Ace, only you can make this look so difficult," he laughed plucking her off the animal. Rory blushed steadying herself in his embrace. Two pairs of eyes set on her.

"I don't think we have met," Thomas smiled, getting off the horse and offering his hand.

"I'm Rory," she smiled shaking his proffered hand, "I'm – " She looked up at Logan.

"My girlfriend," he finished putting an arm around her.

Wendy smiled.

"It can't be true. Rory, you broke him!"

"I what?" Rory laughed.

"You know if you kicked him with your spurs he wouldn't spook."

"I'm not a horse, Wendy." Logan deadpanned much to Rory's amusement who glanced up at him with a gleam in her eyes.

"If you are even thinking of kicking me with your spurs I'm warning you in advance: I will definitely spook!"

Wendy grinned.

"This is my soon to be hubby, Thomas, and we have met before I believe, but in case you don't remember me: I'm Wendy."

"I remember," Rory smiled.

"I hope you will come to the wedding with Logan."

"If I will be invited, sure." She looked up at Logan who raised an eyebrow.

"That depends. If I'm getting kicked with spurs, I don't think so," was his reply.

"Nonsense," Wendy exclaimed, "Hereby you are invited Rory…with or without Logan."

"Nice…" Rory laughed at his dry remark, but more so out of relief. Wendy and Thomas seemed like great friends and they seemed to accept her.

"It's very nice this little chat," Thomas said, "but we kind of need to get on with it, Wen."

"Bloody fences," Wendy sighed and rubbed her pallid face.

"I'll go," Logan offered taking in his friend, "You two go back. Paint each other's toe nails or something."

"No, Logan, you came here for Rose. Not to fix fences and clean stables," Wendy sighed.

"The party is not till tonight," he protested, "besides I need some masculine labour to perform to reaffirm my manliness."

The girls synchronically rolled their eyes.

"Fine. You can go shovel poo to reaffirm your manliness," Wendy conceded, "I'm dying for…pie. Oh! No! For Rose's chocolate cookies!"

"You'll be okay on your own for a while?" Logan asked kissing Rory's head.

"I don't know…without your manliness it is going to be tough. But I shall do my utmost best."

"Very funny, Ace. You were not that negative about my _manliness _just a couple of hours ago," he whispered and got a warning look from Rory. Instead of answering he hoisted her back in the saddle, and slapped Buttercup's behind before the two pairs split up and rode in different directions.

* * *

"I have to admit, I'm kind of jealous," Wendy laughed as the two women walked to the house, "For a long time I was the only girl Logan kept around. I don't mean in a sexual way or anything. We never were together, but Logan and women…well. You know. And now you are here and he likes you better. And yes, getting married does not mean I won't be acting like a five year old anymore."

Rory chuckled. "He loves you to bits. When it comes to that. You are the only girl I know of he cares so much about."

"Next to you?"

"Well that's different."

"Of course it is. You're sleeping with him. Tell me, just out of curiosity…how is the sex?"

Rory's eyes grew as a crimson flashed over her cheeks, before she burst out in laughter. Wendy could not contain her amusement either and the two of them burst into the kitchen on the verge of tears.

"What's so funny?"

Rory ceased laughing and looked into a pair of familiar eyes, Logan's eyes, imbedded in a girl's face.

"Hey, Lena!" Wendy greeted with a smile, "Rory here was just going to tell me how your brother is in bed."

"Oh God! No, I wasn't!"

"Pity…" Wendy chuckled as Lena furrowed her brow and pulled a face.

"Too much information…"

"Hey, Lena." Rory gave her a hesitant smile. There was something about this girl that made her feel rather uncomfortable.

"Hey," she curtly responded, brushing a wisp of blond hair back and picking up her mug of coffee again.

"Logan is out and about saving the world," Wendy sighed sitting down on a stool and reaching for a cookie with a content twinkle in her eyes, "Goodness divinity in the shape and form of a cookie."

Lena grinned taking one as well.

"Coffee?" Rory asked pouring herself a mug.

"No thanks, lately it just upsets my stomach," Wendy sighed, "_God, _I'm so …bah. And I have a wedding in a month. What a nightmare."

"Where are you going to have it?" Rory inquired.

"This little church in Lutton, a town nearby and then there is this Inn where the party will be."

"Sounds lovely. My mom, she owns an Inn."

"Really?"

"Yep. In Stars Hollow."

"Have never heard of it."

"Not many have." Rory sat down at the counter as well.

"Must be one hell of a bore to grow up in a village," Lena added her 2 cents taking a bit of her cookie.

"A _bore_? In Stars Hollow?" Rory laughed, "You have clearly never been there. It's the accumulation of all things odd in Connecticut."

"Perhaps I should have married there," Wendy mused, "free entertainment."

"Miss Patty would have probably lured Thomas away from you and you would be blowing your nose in the curtains while she makes him her husband number 48."

"Perhaps not then…"

Rory jumped up when her phone buzzed in her pocket and checked the caller ID.

"I have to take this," she excused herself leaving the counter and starting to walk towards the stairs, "my mom."

"Hey mom."

"_Loin fruit! You rang?"_

"Yeah, earlier today…" she decided to leave out the details about getting caught, "Just to check in."

"_I'll cross you off the list."_

"What list?"

"_You know… with all my kids on it. They check in, I check off. Simply to keep track. Darn… Ignacio has not checked in for 2 weeks."_

She rolled her eyes sitting down on the upper step of the stairs.

"Everything okay in Stars Hollow? I promise next weekend I'm coming for a movie weekend."

"_Goodie! Listen, it was monthly "going-through-the-mail-day" as you know, I'm sure, and there was something for you."_

"Is it from the Jehovah witnesses again? When will they realize I am not willing to convert!"

"_No no…those I gave your address in New Haven. They have some new pamphlets. Logan might be interested."_

"Oh I'm sure…Well what is it?"

"_It's from Paris."_

"Oh…"

"_Are you not telling me something? Are you migrating to France? Oui?"_

"No…yes…no…I don't know…" She sighed.

"_Talk to me kid. What is this?" _

"I applied for this internship some months ago. Just to get my mind off Logan, and I didn't think I would get it anyway. And then I got accepted and I have been putting it off, because I don't know if I should go…"

"_What is there to be unsure about?! Croissants! Coffee! Women with hairy armpits! Really, babe, what is it that is keeping you away. I googled it and it's kind of prestigious. Would do your journalism career wonders. A chance of a lifetime. I'm surprised you are even hesitating."_

"I-" she sighed, "Logan."

"_Logan? What does Logan have to do with any of this?"_

"He is my boyfriend, whom I would be leaving?"

"_But…it's Logan. I don't know him that well…but he doesn't seem like a guy who would stop you from making your dreams come true. He is not the housewife type."_

"Things have been hard on him lately and I don't want to leave him in the lurch. On other hand… I…I just don't know."

"_What's wrong?"_

"It's like we are stuck… We keep fighting about the same stuff…and if not we are avoiding it and I'm trying to be patient with the whole thing about his dad, but he keeps pushing me away and I just don't know what else I can do to be there for him if he doesn't let me in. So maybe I should go. To let everything rest." There it was out. For a fraction of a second her chest felt lighter.

* * *

Lena leaned against the doorframe. She was leaving. If Logan was so in love with her as he seemed to be, he was most likely miserable. She groaned inwardly at having so little contact with him that she had to find out things like that overhearing his girlfriend on the phone instead of first hand from him. And a while ago he would have come to her with it. She knew something had happened between him and Mitchum. He had not said anything, but the man had developed a habit of physically cringing at the mention of Logan's name. Something had happened. Something big. And now Rory was leaving. She could not say she adored the girl, but if she was what it took for Logan to be happy, she would live with it. Perhaps he was too proud to come cry out to her about his girlfriend. It was not like she had material to compare it to. Perhaps he _was_ too proud, but it was Logan and if she had to use a chisel to get through his hard shell she was going to do just that. With a sigh she walked down the stairs and out the door in the cool air.

* * *

"But I love him, I can't just factor him out."

"_Does he know you got accepted?" Lorelai asked her daughter. _

"No."

"_Does he know you applied?"_

"No…"

"_Kid, the date here says that you need to make up your mind before Wednesday. So I think you should tell him before you are standing at the airport."_

"Not if I don't go…"

"_I think you should go… and most importantly I think you think you should go…"_

"So many people have abandoned him in his lifetime and I don't want to be one of them…"

"_And that means putting your own happiness aside? I don't know, hon. It sounds all a bit dodgy to me. Don't throw away your future over a boy."_

"I'm not…throwing my future away over _a_ boy and part of me really wants to go, but…" Was it still throwing away something if it was not _a _boy, but _the _boy? Or was it called investing then? She sighed. It was far too soon to think in terms of "the".

"_Then go."_

"I'll…I'll think about it. I got to go."

"_Take care, kid. Love you."_

"Love you too." She clasped her phone shut and sighed burying her head in her arms. Truth was these last few weeks the thought of Paris had become increasingly more appealing. Not only was it a chance in a lifetime, it was something different, something far away from here. Something that might offer her some perspective. Maybe Logan _was_ just _a _boy. Maybe the lack of involvement from his side was a giveaway she chose to ignore. If he could not trust her could there still be a "them"? Could she forever walk on her toes, holding her breath as not to break the imaginary perfect world he had built for himself? There had been hope in the moments he had bared his soul to her, only to be taken away by the piano lid slamming as fast back in it's place as it had lifted and produced the keys he had once so enjoyed playing. Maybe, despite her best efforts…she was not the person for him. Maybe she was just not good enough for him and maybe he would one day find a person he would let in. And she would find someone who would let her in. She swallowed back tears of frustration.

* * *

"Honey, I'm home!" Logan's cry echoed through the house.

"We're in here!" Wendy replied from the kitchen.

"I'm parched," he declared pulling open the fridge door and retrieving a bottle of water, "Have you two been sitting here all day? Eating cookies?" Eagerly the contents of the bottle slid down his dry throat and he let out a happy sigh.

"We might have," Rory smirked, her eyes taking in a dirty looking Logan. It had something, that image of rolled up sleeves, sweaty clothes, the muddled dirty hair and the smudge on his cheek.

"Manual labour suits you," she said.

"Shocking, isn't it," he walked around the counter, "Logan Huntzberger actually does-"

"Smell like a horse," she chuckled as he leant in to kiss her cheek.

"Admit it you love it. It's the smell of a real man."

"You stink, babe."

He rolled his eyes.

"Then I shall go and thoroughly groom myself. Care to join me?" he winked, "This time we will hang a sock on the door."

She swatted his stomach as a blush crept over her face.

"She always does that," Logan explained to a bemused Wendy, "The sheer sight of me makes her blush."

"Don't flatter yourself. Get going!"

"I'm getting, I'm going… Just so you know. There is someone out there who appreciates the _real _me." He plucked a piece of straw out of his shirt. Rory's lips sadly twitched into a smile bordering a grimace and she looked away once more fighting the tears. Perhaps there was.

"Lena is here somewhere too," she quickly said before he could leave.

"Alright," he smiled, "Shower first. Find sister later."

With that he ran up the stairs two steps at a time.

"Are you okay?" Wendy studied Rory's saddened face.

"Yeah," she smiled, "Just tired. We got up at 4 this morning."

Wendy raised an eyebrow.

"Ehm…his idea." She pointed towards the stairs.

"Maniac."

"That's what I said."

* * *

He pulled the sweaty shirt over his head and threw it on the floor. With a groan he moved his shoulder. He was going to hurt tomorrow. Those hay bales had proved to be heavier than he had anticipated. Whatever the case, he felt great. His body felt used, and the physical fatigue somehow soothed his emotional one. A soft knock on the door made him look up. He smiled and the person leaning against the door frame smiled back.

"Hey there, stranger," she chuckled.

"Hey. How are things?"

"Like always," she sighed coming in and sitting down on the bed, "You smell."

"So I keep hearing. Women these days. This used to be the male ideal!"

"In what world?"

He rolled his eyes and kicked off his shoes.

"I see you brought Rory…" Lena said quietly staring at the rug on the floor.

"Is that a problem?"

"No. I was just surprised. How are things going between you two now?"

He shrugged. They were not going perfectly smooth, sometimes more backwards than forwards, but they were going. She just needed to be patient with him a little longer. Things were going to be better. They had to.

"They're okay."

"You can tell me," she smiled, "That's what I'm here for. To comfort you. I can hardly expect you to be _okay _when she is leaving to France for God knows how long. And you are well…in love with her. I didn't think it was possible, but you are… And what the hell happened between you and Mitchum? I've never seen the man like now."

"Say what?" he raised a tired eyebrow.

"Mitchum. He is acting oddly—"

He shook his head impatiently. The words Rory and France had not been used in one sentence before and he was confused.

"Rory is going to France?" he asked in a tone hanging somewhere between absurdity and disbelief.

"Yeah… I…thought you knew. I heard her on the phone," she studied his expressionless face, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop!" She added quickly, "I was just walking past her."

"Do you mind?" he said quietly while unbuckling his belt. Lena rose from the bed and put an awkward hand on his arm.

"I really thought you knew… I didn't…"

"Lena." His voice held a plea she couldn't ignore. With a sympathetic smile she left him alone. Had she just done something inexcusable?

* * *

Silently Rory climbed the stairs. The table was set and the dinner steaming, and still no sign of Logan. From the strange looks Lena had cast her she was starting to suspect that something happened. Maybe they had a fall out over her? Lena had never been thrilled she was roaming this earth, let alone with her brother. Or perhaps she was imagining things and he had fallen asleep. Quietly she pushed open their bedroom door and was surprised to see him sitting in a chair facing the window. The room was cast in twilight.

"Hey," she greeted, "What are you doing? Rose is waiting."

He didn't look up. In fact he didn't seem to acknowledge her presence at all.

"What happened?" She asked and approached him, till she was leaning against the windowsill, replacing the no point in particular he was staring at in the distance with herself. His glance drifted up and met hers. She was taken aback by the coldness in his eyes.

"What is going on?" she asked him again feeling uneasily.

"Apparently a charade," he answered, "When was I going to find out? On the day itself? Were you even gonna leave a note? Or would I just one day come home and not find you there?"

"What? I—" She shook her head in confusion.

"Were you afraid I would stop you from going? I thought you knew me well enough to know that I would never do that. I would drive you myself," each word sounded more bitter, more accusing, "Do you trust me that little? Or was I wrong to assume that you care about me as much as I do about you?"

Rory's heart was pounding in her chest so hard it was surely going to break through her ribcage. _Paris._ He somehow had found out about Paris.

"Of course I care about you! You know how much I care! I didn't tell you because I _care_! To this days I am not sure about going or not, because I _care_!" She swallowed back the tears his wounded eyes inflicted on hers.

"You should go," he said curtly and got up and started walking towards the door.

"Logan…" she pleaded.

"Rose is waiting." He disappeared out of sight leaving her in the dim-lit room with the shimmer of her teary eyes as the only source of radiance.

* * *

TBC

**AN: So Logan's reaction can seem a bit… neutral, but I intend to work it out in the coming chapter(s). See it as the initial shock. I hope this was worth the long wait. Don't forget to leave a comment! **


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